You
by popculturerebel
Summary: Ever since they've returned to the U.S., she's still wonders if he'll ever realize her feelings for him I've been a long supporter of this pairing for a long time... Now I can finally let my imagination do its thing...
1. Prologue

**Author's note: **I've waited for 9 years for something like this to come to life! Since 2002, I've been a big fan and supporter of the Roy Bromwell & Tiffany Lords love team ever since I started playing Rival Schools back when I was still a 5th grader!

**Summary:**

**Setting: **Some time passed after the events of _Rival Schools_ and _Project Justice_ after Roy Bromwell and Tiffany Lords returned to the United States of America.

**-TIFFANY'S SIDE-**

It was a snowy day outside Tiffany's neighborhood. Although the weather outside is cold, she's only wearing a dark blue shirt and pink shorts. Looking around her room, she saw her old cheerleader uniforms, lying on the floor; one from the events of _Rival Schools_ and the other from _Project Justice_. She took hold of one of them and stared blankly at the ceiling, reminiscing the good old times she had with Roy back in Japan.

That moment she's reminiscing about is when she, Roy and Boman graduated from Pacific High School. She had a flashback during that day before they parted ways and returning back to the U.S., leaving Boman behind since he decided to stay so he can learn more of Japan.

**-FLASHBACK-**

After the graduation ceremony

"_You looked very beautiful the first time I saw you"_

_*blushes* "Umm… thank you Roy Bromwell"_

"_I hope we'll see each other again in the future…Tiffany Lords" he caressed her hair_

"_I really hope so also… that we'll see each other again…"_

**-END OF FLASHBACK-**

Done reminiscing, she sat on her bed and looking outside the window, she hugs her giant teddy bear, allowing her mind to wander around her thoughts.

She's been always a cheerful, bubble-headed and funky girl during her stay at Pacific High School along with Roy and Boman, but in this case, she's a little lonesome just thinking of that moment. *sigh* _"It's been a long time already, a long time since I've seen Roy. I miss him so much"_ she thought as she tightens the hug on her stuffed toy.

"_I hope I get to see him again someday… we knew each other when we attended the same school together here before going overseas for Pacific; I've fallen in love with him ever since then. The Strong-Armed football player, Roy Bromwell, he's like the perfect guy among all the other guys I met in here and in Pacific."_

She had another flashback, this time it was in a football game. Roy and his teammates playing against another team while Tiffany and the other cheerleaders are cheering for them. Every time Roy makes a touchdown, not only are she and her fellow cheerleaders cheering but also his many fan girls.

Continuing to look at the snowy environment outside, she saw a young couple walking together and holding hands by the sidewalk. Staring at the two lovers made her imagine them as Roy and herself.

"Roy Bromwell…" she mutters her name. "Why won't you know my true feelings for you?"

It is very unusual for her to be having the blues at a time like this.

Feeling so blue, she lied down on her bed, facing the wall, letting go of her stuffed toy. On the wall are pictures containing memories & moments of her with Roy at random places. One photo however is an exception, it shows her with 2 people she became close friends with, Hinata Wanabe of Taiyo High School and Natsu Ayuhara of Gorin High School; the photo shows them hanging out at a dance club, just one day after they graduated. Looking at the photo, she remembers the good times she had with them, especially when they found out about her crush on him.

_Sitting in one corner and having a conversation while having some drinks._

"_You enjoy going to dance clubs, huh Tiffany?"_

"_That's right Natsu. Every weekend, I never miss the chance to get my groove on!"_

"_I can see why, you're dressed up in a very seductive manner"_

"_I know right!" *giggles*_

"_I'm just curious about something, Tiffany"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Is it true that you have a crush on Roy?"_

_*blushes* "Yeah how did you know that Hinata?"_

"_Well every time I see you with Roy, you always have a romantic expression on that face of yours"_

"_Well I…"_

"_I gotta hand it to Hinata, you enjoy being with him"_

"_Yeah, he's the only boy in school my heart belongs to"_

"_How did you two first met?"  
>"Well, way before we studied in Pacific, Roy &amp; I attended the same school in the U.S.A."<em>

"_No kidding! What else?"_

"_Then when we studied at Pacific, that's when I realized I've fallen in love with him"_

"_Aww… such a sweet and cute love story!"_

"_Ha-ha, thanks Hinata"_

"_What are the things you like about him, anyway?"_

"_Well, aside from being so good-looking and handsome, he's also very strong and helping"_

"_Oh well, you picked the right guy for your heart!"_

"_I really did, didn't I?"_

"_I'll be honest here Tiffany, you and Roy are a perfect match"_

"_You really think so!"_

"_I really do, I'm not even lying! Him being the strong-armed football player and you as the sexy cheerleader, it's the perfect love team!"_

"_Thanks Natsu, you're the best!" Then both the Gorin volleyball player and Taiyo student sang something to her._

"_Roy and Tiffany sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"_

"_Ha ha ha, wow some way of flattering me there!" They all shared a laugh._

Remembering the fun time she had with Hinata and Natsu, she feels as if she's homesick or somehow nostalgic. She had a long face just thinking of that moment; this isn't like her since she's known to be a cheerful and funky girl.

In front of her bed is her desk. She got up and opened one of the drawers; inside it is the Pacific HS Yearbook. Eager to look at it, she took it out and began browsing it.

Aside from pictures featuring her, Roy, Boman and other Pacific students, she looks at the page featuring photos from various school activities. Some of the photos feature her and Roy at a sports event which consists of not only Pacific but also the other schools: Taiyo, Gedo, Gorin and Justice. Looking at the photos made her, unsurprisingly, miss him even more. Closing the Yearbook, she let out a sigh.

On one corner of the desk is a picture frame which consists of the two of them at a resort.

"_Will there ever be a day and time that we can see each other again, so that I can tell you my true feelings?"_

**-ROY'S SIDE-**

Snow also surrounded the villa where Roy lives all by himself. This is actually one of two villas he stayed in, the other one is from Japan during his stay there. During his spare time, he took an interest in music and practiced playing the guitar; after some time of practicing, he's now a master guitar player. Also in his spare time, he also formed a 6-piece rock band he named "HTMLL" which is an acronym that stands for "How To Meet Lovely Ladies" the name was suggested by one of his friends' brother who is a web designer. The band consists of himself and 5 of his Pacific High School buddies, with him as the lead vocalist and guitarist, 2 bassists, another guitarist providing backing vocals, a keyboardist and a drummer. Their band's music style is reminiscent of The Beatles, Chicago, Journey and The Eagles.

Sitting on a beanbag, the American football player is enjoying playing the _Guns N' Roses_ classic hit "_Sweet Child O' Mine_" with it.

"_This song kind of speaks to me…"_ he stops playing for a while to clears his mind for a bit, then resumes playing, finishing it.

Having finished playing the guitar, he puts it back in his room. _"What to do next?" _he looks at the clock _"Oh right, there's a game on right now."_

Remembering what to do, the former Pacific student is just relaxing at a couch, watching an _NFL_ game on his widescreen television.

"_I hope they win so they'll end up in the finals"_ he thought as he's rooting for his favorite team.

While watching the game, the doorbell rang. "Who could that be? Must be my buddies"

Getting up from the couch, he peeked through the door hole and realized it's his band mates behind the door. _"I knew it was them, that reminds me, we're gonna rehearse today. We haven't rehearsed for a long time due to all of us being busy with other things"_

"Hey guys right timing! Come on in!" They entered the place and are surprised by his place's appearance's beautiful design. Looking around, their eyes couldn't believe how cool the place is.

"Some place you got here!"

"Thanks dude, it's my dad's holiday villa"

"Cool dude…"

"A little FYI, he has another villa in Japan and I enjoyed my stay there as well"

"I always thought you hated Japan?"

"I used to hate it, but I grew to love that country and I regret all the bad stuff I said about it"

"You've changed a bit, I noticed that…"

"Yeah, it's for the better for everyone and for me"

"That's good to hear" one of them turned his attention to the widescreen television. "Nice, is that thing Hi-Def?"

"Indeed and there's an _NFL_ game right now"

"No kidding!" another one of his pals exclaimed "As in right now?"

"Yeah, feel yourselves at home guys!" Roy suggested. With that, all 5 of them sat on the couch with their eyes focused on watching the game.

"Now this is a true and awesome NFL matchup!" another one of his buddies cheered on.

"Yo Roy"

"Yeah?"

"We're gonna rehearse today right?"

"Yeah why?"

"Can we do it after the game? The two teams in this match are so strong"

"Sure, no problem; I have the same thing in mind anyway"

"Thanks dude, you're the best!"

"Anytime man! I don't wanna miss the game too myself"

While they watch, Roy is checking the fridge for some snacks

"What do you guys want _Dr. Pepper_ or _Mountain Dew_?"

"_DR. PEPPER!_" they all answered in unison. "Heh, same here!" he took out two plastic bottles of Dr. Pepper from the fridge.

"Who's up for some pizza?" Unsurprisingly, they all answered "YES"

"Wait lemme rephrase that, there are 2 pizzas, different flavors too!"

"EVEN BETTER!" one shouted.

"Let your empty tummies wait, I'll just put them in the toaster" Placing them 2 pieces at a time in the toaster and setting the time, he grabbed 6 cups.

Minutes later, the pizzas are all toasted up and ready. "Here comes the pizza, guys!" Roy placed it on the small table near in front of the couch.

"Damn, they both look juicy!" one of his buddies complimented.

"It sure is, very mouth watering"

"Can one of you help me with the drinks?"

"I got it!" one came to assist him, holding the bottles of soda.

"Got both of them. I'll place them near the pizza"

"Appreciate it dude, thanks" Roy then placed the cups near the bottles. With everything ready, all they did is relax and enjoy watching the football game. All of their attention is directed at the game; they cheered on to the team they're rooting for.

The game lasted for several more minutes. Now on the final quarter, both teams are on each others' neck with the scores very close to each other, with their favorite team down by 8 points and the opposing team up by 20 points. With the exception of Roy, his buddies are feeling really tense right now.

"This doesn't look good at all!" one of his buddies got worried

"I feel you dude! They're down by 8 points!"

"Calm down guys, the quarter's not even starting yet"

"But they're down by 8 points! They'll never catch up to 20 points!"

"Relax man, our team's gonna win"

"Don't be so full of it Roy!"

"I'm not man" *chuckles* "Just wait and you'll find out"

With nothing more to say, his pals have no choice but to watch anxiously for the perceived results

After the first 10 minutes passed, the tables are turned on their team's favor, creating touchdown after touchdown, much to their favor. "Whoa did you see that? They're catching up right away!"

"I know! KEEP IT GUYS!"

"_Ha-ha, they're forgetting the fact that I myself am a pro in football!" _Roy thought, taking a sip from his cup.

The opposing team couldn't make a single touchdown due to the team's sudden uprising. With the remaining 10 minutes, the score's are neck-on-neck, with their team scoring 15 points while the opposing team's score remains the same.

"Damn, what a game! Our team's gonna win this thing!"

"I hope they will because the scores are very close"

"Keep watching guys, you might be surprised by the conclusion of the game"'

"Is this a replay? Because you sound like you've watched-"

"This is not a replay; I'm trying to predict their moves and strategy"

"So you say…" The final quarter is nearing the end and the action is still very tense. 3 of Roy's pal's are so tense that they stood up from the couch to focus more on the game.

"I notice that you 3 are too excited!"

"We know Roy, besides; it's just a cool game!"

"Don't get too excited or too tense or else you guys might crap your pants! Ha-ha"

Now under the last remaining 2 minutes of the game, all 6 of them are on their feet, really hyped up about the football action they're watching now.

"THIS IS IT GUYS! The final 2 minutes of football action!" one exclaimed, almost spilling his drink on the couch.

"Whoa dude, keep it down. And that's an expensive couch. You better not spill your drink there!"

"I won't Roy, sorry" for safety reasons, he drank all the contents inside the cup and placed it on the table.

Everybody (except Roy of course) has their fingers crossed and has tense expressions on their faces

"Come on, man you can do it!"

"Don't let 'em put you down! We're counting on you!"

"Go! Go! Go! Go!"

Down on the final minute, the score is now even, emotions are really running high. The star quarterback of their team is making one final touchdown for the possible win. Final 30 seconds left, the quarterbacks from the opposing team each fail to take him down. The quarterback sprinted like a wild animal, finally reaching the mark, making the winning touchdown, with the final scores 59-56. The team celebrated, so did the crowd in the jam packed stadium celebrated as their hometown heroes earned a victory.

Minutes of anticipation finally paid off, Roy and his friends celebrated and start going nuts to their team's victory.

"They did it! Yeah!" two of them gave each other a body slam while the Roy and the other 3 had a group hug and began jumping on the floor with the other 2 joining in for the fun.

With the game over, they decided to take a rest first due to having too much celebrating; they passed the time by watching a movie they barely even know

"Oh man, that game was awesome!" one muttered, taking a sip.

"Yeah; Roy, how did you know that they we're gonna win?"

Roy smirked "How I did it? Some question, you're forgetting the fact that I'm a football pro!"

"Oh right!" *face palm* "How can I forget? Sorry dude!"

"It's alright dude…" *chuckles*

Consuming what is left of their snacks, the gang rested for several more minutes to cool down their tummies. Having well rested and feeling energized and ready, the gang went to a newly built recording room that Roy added in his villa. The room is like a recording studio and the walls are mostly covered with many posters of famous rock bands and music icons.

Since Roy is the band's front man, the instruments are always stored here for sessions mostly; the other members have their own instruments at their respective homes

"Damn, some snazzy recording session here" complimented one of his pals

"I know right? I love hanging out here when I need to think of lyrics"

"I like the atmosphere here; I can stay here all day!"

"We all do! Alright let's start" They assemble themselves and decided to play a few instrumental solos to keep them pumped up and prepared.


	2. Long time, no see

**-BACK IN JAPAN-**

Natsu and Hinata having finished shopping for some fancy clothes among other things are just strolling around at a popular shopping center. Looking at every place they pass by, all they do is have fun like nothing's worrying them.

"This French maid attire I bought looks **SO** cute!" Hinata boasted, showing it to her "Look at it! It's in my favorite color, red!" other stuff she bought is a figurine of her favorite anime character, a poster of her favorite music artist and a pair of sandals

"Indeed it is Hinata; I can imagine you wearing it at an otaku festival" mentioned Natsu, who just purchased a red knit cap, a shirt with a tomboyish theme and a recent issue of _Sports Illustrated _with her favorite volleyball team on the cover.

"I know right? I wonder how you'll look in something like this." Natsu is shocked by what her childhood friend said.

"Whoa Hinata, I can't fit into clothes like that!"

"No, but I can imagine!" she closed her eyes and imagine Natsu dressed in a French maid attire

Her face turned red.

"You're is so gorgeous in it!" muttered Hinata with a smile

"Hinata, stop it! I'm getting embarrassed!" Natsu just laughed it off, so does Hinata

While they continue to look around, there was a sudden commotion going on in front of them.

Hinata was the first one to notice it "Hey guys, look what's going on over there" she pointed.

Several people are gathered in the center, in front of an eatery, as if they're to watch an entrepreneur is showing off his/her new product.

"Hey some of the people there are from my school!" Natsu took notice. Upon closer observation, she also saw her Gorin buddies Shoma, Roberto and Nagare among the crowd

"Hey you're right!" still observing, she also saw some of her school mates "Ooh! I see some of my other fellow Taiyo brethren there!"

"Let's say we check out…"

"I'm with you there Natsu" Once they're near the crowd, they heard a familiar voice.

"There will be a huge 5-school reunion! Taiyo, Gorin, Pacific, Gedo & Seijyun are the **ONLY** schools in this reunion! It will be fun, especially if all of you are part of the same batch, which is Class of 2000! If you're a student from any of those schools, all of you are invited and if you're not, too bad! It will take place by next month at the Taiyo High School, which will be the main hosting school. There'll be more information on the fliers. You can get the flyers from Iicho a.k.a. Chairperson…"

With that said and done, the crowd turned their attention to Chairperson, with fliers in hand. One by one, each person, regardless of which school, receives a flyer. Even when going out to places like the mall, she still wears her signature red track sweater, like it's one of her most prized possessions

"You're attendance and presence in this once-in-a-lifetime event will be worth your time" she told them, handing out the fliers. "Take note of what Sakura just said, anyone who **IS NOT** a student from any of the 5 selected schools cannot attend"

The reason why only the 5 main schools are included is that Justice High School is now gone since it went up in flames a few years earlier, which also contributed to the death of one of its finest students, Kyosuke's brother Hyo Imawano

Before taking a break, Sakura remembered something that she forgot to mention "Oh oh wait a minute everybody!" Chairperson and the others turned to her attention

"I forgot to mention, only us students will be attending" her additional last minute announcement was met with mixed reactions

"The reason for that is Chairperson, Ran & I were informed earlier this week by Prof. Kyoko because the professors will be having their own reunion at a different place and time, that's all, thank you!" the students continued to get their fliers

"Hey Sakura!" Chairperson called out her name

"Yeah?"

"Good thing you informed them that because I myself almost forgot…"

"No problem!" she then took a break

When the two got closer to where the voice is coming from, they discovered that it's none other than Sakura behind the announcement

"I knew it was her…" muttered Hinata. While looking around the crowd, Natsu saw her Gorin pals just conversing with each other.

"Hey Hinata, I'll just be with my fellow classmates over there"

"Sure thing, I'll be just here doing the same thing too"

The Gorin volleyball player went to where her classmates are "Hey you three! Long time, no see!" she greeted.

"Hey Natsu! It's been a long time!" Shoma first took notice

"Yo Natsu!" so does Roberto

"Natsu, it's been a long time since we've seen each other" and Nagare

"Yeah, I know right? So how's it going for you three?"

Nagare goes first "I'll be competing in a swimming competition in a couple of months"

"Awesome, I wish you luck"

"Thanks"

"How about you Roberto?"

"I'll be participating in an international football event by October"

"Whoa, good for you!"

"Lastly, how about you Shoma?"

"I'm now a free agent in baseball!" his tone filled with confidence

"No kidding! That sounds great!"

"Yup and the ones who recruited me to become what I am now said that there's a possibility I'll be joining my brother's team"

"Get outta here! Some life you have right now!"

"Thanks Natsu how's your life right now if I may ask?"

"Nothing much going on except that I'm a P.E. coach for an elementary school"

"That's good, since everyone in Gorin sees you coaching juniors"

"Wow, I'm flattered by what you said Shoma"

"Just saying the facts…"

"Thanks…"

"I'm just glad that little bitch Momo isn't here"

"Yeah, that small-but-terrible girl's a pain in the butt"

"Hey Shoma, are you blushing?" Roberto took notice

"I'm not!" he denied

"Don't tell me you miss her?" Nagare joined in

"What the- What's gotten into you guys?"

"Ha ha ha, we're only kidding Shoma!" all 4 of them shared a laugh

"By the way, what's going on here? Why are there so many former students not only from our school but also from the other 5 schools that we competed against in sports events?"

"There's going to be a huge, in what was just said, 5-school reunion that will take place"

"Wow, that's something you don't hear everyday…"

"Yeah same here…" added Roberto. Nagare just nodded his head

"Are all 3 of you attending?" The trio responded by nodding in unison

"Is that a flier of the event you're holding Shoma?"

"Yes it is"

"May I see?" he handed it over

On the flier it reads:

"**Are you a student of Taiyo, Pacific, Gorin, Gedo or Seijyun?**

**Then you are invited to this once-in-a-lifetime event: A 5-school alumni homecoming which will take place on April 28 at Taiyo High School grounds. It will be a fun event! Everyone is invited!**

**Any attire will do**

**Be there or be square!" **

"Hmmm, sounds interesting… Count me in too!"

"Great! Now the 4 of us can finally chill and enjoy!"

"You bet! Where can I get this?"

"From Chairperson. If you want I'll get one for you"

"No, it's alright Shoma, I'll get it myself thank you" she went to get a flyer

Meanwhile, Hinata goes looking for Sakura when she accidentally bumped into a familiar face.

"Whoa, watch where you're going!" the voice called out

"I'm sorry" she soon discovered that the person is none other than Batsu. "Batsu? Is that you?"

"Hinata? Hey! Long time no see!"

"I know right? It's been a long time!"

"It sure is, sorry about that. I thought you were someone I don't know!"

"It's fine, don't worry" Someone from behind surprised her with a simple "BOO!"

"GAH!" turning around, it's the one and only Kyosuke

"Good day Hinata!" he grinned

"Oh Kyosuke! You joker!" she gave him a friendly punch on his right bicep

"It's just my way of saying hi, for today"

"Some greeting…"

"Say Cheese!" The trio is caught off guard by a sudden flash coming from a camera

"Ouch my eyes!" Hinata rubbed her eyes, 'cept for Batsu & Kyosuke for they know where the flash came from

*giggles* "I got you real good Hinata!" muttered the soon-to-be-journalist Ran Hibiki

Hinata struggled to recover her sight "Ran? I knew I'd find you here!"

"Of course you would!" *giggles* "OMG! You look so hilarious in this shot!" Look at you!" she showed her the stolen shot

"Oh crap, I look like a ghost! Please delete it!"

"I will…. After it ends up in Facebook!"

"Oh Ran…" she just giggled "Come on Hinata, don't be such a sourpuss!"

"Never mind, have you seen Sakura? I've heard her voice here"

"Oh well, she's…" she looks around "There she is, just relaxing on a chair enjoying a milkshake"

"I see her thanks…" She approached her

"Hey Sakura!" she called out

"Hi Hinata!" What's up?"

"Just Natsu & I strolling around, what's going on here?"

"Haven't you heard? There's gonna be 5-school reunion!"

"A 5-school reunion? No way!"

"Yes way! Didn't you hear my announcement just minutes ago?"

"Barely because Natsu & I just knew about it now"

"Oh… well you do now!" she muttered, taking a sip. "I'll be attending it. Will you be attending?"

"Of course! I love reunions! Wait a minute; your school isn't part of the event"

"I know, I'll be hosting it!" she grinned

"Cool! Who made you the host?"

"I volunteered to be the host!"

"In that case, good luck with hosting the event"

"Thanks Hinata. Did you get a flyer yet?"

"Oh not yet, who has them?"

"Iic- I mean Chairperson is giving them away right now. Get one now or you won't be able to attend"

Without saying a word, Hinata went to get a flyer for herself as well.

The students in the crowd are getting fewer and fewer by the minute as Chairperson's stack of fliers is beginning to run out.

"Getting a flyer, Hinata?"

"Yeah…" After several minutes, the students have gotten all their fliers and went separate ways, either solo, duo, trio or in groups

"_Finally, I can rest my butt off right now"_ thought Chairperson, about to put away the last few remaining fliers

The duo finally caught up to Iicho, stopping her in her tracks

She immediately recognized who they are "Hinata! Natsu! What a surprise!"

"Please give us a flyer!" they both told her in unison.

"Oh sure, here…" she gave both of them fliers

"Thank you!" again in unison

"I didn't see both of you among the crowd…"

"Natsu & I were just shopping and strolling around…"

"I see, well I'm happy to know that both of you are attending this event"

"Why wouldn't we? I love being in reunions with the people I know and love!" Hinata gave her a surprising hug

"Whoa Hinata, not here!"

"Sorry!" *giggles* "So you're the mind behind this event?"

"Not just me but also Sakura & Ran"

"And is it true that Sakura volunteered to be the host?"

"Well, she didn't really volunteer…"

"What do you mean?" Natsu joined in

"Before both of you knew about this, Ran & I were ready to announce it until she intruded. We told her about this, she got excited and she volunteered to be the host of the event; at first I rejected it since her school isn't part of the event until Ran convinced me enough and there, Sakura is now the host"

Then, speak of the devil… "Hey, what are you guys doing?"

"We're just talking about the controversy surrounding how you ended up being the host…"

"Oh come on Iicho, I promise I'll be a good host!"

"Yeah Chairperson, don't be too hard on her" Ran joined in the conversation

"OK, OK… Please Sakura don't mess up"

"I won't!" she grinned, raising a fist on the air

Then, a voice came out of nowhere… "Finally I caught up with you guys…"

"Who's that?" Sakura muttered. The voice that called came from Pacific's pacifistic student Boman Delgado

"Oh Boman! Haven't seen you for a long time now!" Ran was the first one to notice his presence

"Hello Ran, everybody…"

"Hi Boman!" The rest greeted in unison

"I heard that there will be some special event that will take place at Cypress hotel, correct?"

"You got it right Boman; it will be a 5-school reunion"

"I see, when will it take place?"

This time, Chairperson answered "It will take place on April 28. Are you attending?"

"I will of course, I want to see my fellow Pacific brethren and you guys as well"

"That's so nice of you, here's a flyer of the event" she gave him a copy

"Thank you" he browsed at it for a while

"We'll be expecting you there…"

"I will be there…"

"Oh just thinking of it makes me very excited about it!" Hinata exclaimed

"I guess you can't wait for it, eh Hinata?" noticed Natsu

"I'll like to stay and chat with all of you some more but me, Ran & Sakura have some plans to do regarding this event"

"Oh that's right, us 3 have to plan and organize the events that will take place at this reunion" added Ran

"Sorry guys, the three of us will be busy bees for some days" added Sakura

"It's fine, at least the reunion will go as expected thanks to your improvised plans"

"Whoa, thanks for those supportive words Boman" thanked Chairperson "Well, were off to go now"

"Until next time!" greeted Ran

"See you guys on April 28!" added Sakura

"Bye guys!" the other three waved. With that, the three event organizers disappeared in the crowd

"Hey Boman, haven't talked to you for a while now, have we?"

"It sure is Hinata, are you attending the reunion too?"

"You bet I will, so is Natsu"

"Why will I not attend Hinata?" she joked

"I hope to see both of you there…"

"Yup…"

"Hey Natsu!" Shoma tried to get her attention

"Shoma, what is it?"

"The three of us are off to the arcade, wanna join us?"

"Try next time; I'm with Hinata, thanks anyway"

"Alright, see ya!"

"You three take care!" her three friends are now far away

"Umm, Boman…"

"Yes Hinata?"

"How is Tiffany?"

"Now that you mentioned her, I haven't heard much from her recently but it's obvious she's doing fine back in the U.S., why?"

"I want her to attend the reunion"

"Same here…"

"Who do you want to invite to the reunion, Hinata?"  
>"Tiffany"<p>

"Oh… then we'll just tell her via e-mail"

"I hope she'll receive it because I don't want her to be left behind"

"That's understandable" added the young preacher "I want her to attend too"

"Yeah, so we can see each other again"

"Hinata, you're forgetting someone"

"I have? Who?"

"The boy she's in love with for a long time…"

"Boy she's in love- Oh, Roy Bromwell! Yeah, he should attend too" she remembered

"And who knows, she'll confess her love for him"

"YES! And maybe he'll confess his love for her as well!"

"I'll e-mail both of them a message regarding about this special event" said Boman

"Please do Boman, I want everyone we know to be part of this once in a lifetime event" Natsu agreed with her

**-BACK IN THE U.S.A.-**

Tiffany, having arrived home from a morning walk in the park, is immediately greeted by her mother

"Tiffany dear, your home, how was the walk in the park?"

"Refreshing, the weather today's lovely too"

"I see, breakfast is ready by the way"

"OK, I'll just tidy myself up…" going back to her room, she immediately gets a change of clothes, from her workout clothes to simple home attire. Before going back to the dining room, she glanced at a picture of her and Roy together in a random place

**-TIMESKIP-**

Having finished breakfast, she went back to her room and checked her e-mail on her laptop. While deleting all the useless and read messages to the trash, one message caught her eye's attention: A message from Boman

"_Boman sent me a message; I wonder what it is all about." _She clicked the message, it reads:

"Hi Tiffany, how's it going there? I'm having fun here in Japan as usual. I have some special news for you: There's gonna be a 5-school reunion that will take place on April 28 at the luxurious hotel. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event that I don't want you to miss out. I'm attending it, so does Hinata and Natsu. I also informed Roy about this. I hope to hear from you again regarding about this. I miss you and Roy"

On the bottom of what he typed is the same actual text from the flyer, she read it

"**Are you a student of Taiyo, Pacific, Gorin, Gedo or Seijyun?**

**Then you are invited to this once-in-a-lifetime event: A 5-school alumni homecoming which will take place on April 28 at Taiyo High School grounds. It will be a fun event! Everyone is invited!**

**Any attire will do**

**Be there or be square!" **

"_An alumni homecoming eh? This sounds exciting, not to mention new; I don't want to miss out on an event like this… I'm attending of course! I get to see my classmates from Pacific again and be with my 2 close friends, Natsu & Hinata; I hope Roy will attend as well so I can finally confess to him my true feelings"_

She replied and typed the following:

"Hey Boman, yeah it's been a very long time since we communicated. I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself there in Japan =D. Really, a 5-school alumni homecoming? That's something new… You're attending it too. Cool, I'm happy that Natsu & Hinata are also attending said event. Wow, it's still a month away; I have a lot of time to prepare for it. You informed Roy about it too? Thanks, I want to see him again too. Please let me know if he replied to it. Thanks again, you take care there in Japan…"

For the next few days, she has her mind set on the said event…

**-DAY 1-**

Staying in her room after another morning workout at a park, she immediately opened her e-mail

Checking her inbox, she looks for any updates regarding the reunion; she searched carefully in her inbox for new messages but to her disappointment, there isn't any…

_*groans*_ _"Not even a single message… guess I expected too much"_ she thought in disappointment.

About to log out of her mail account, the chat box came up with a message, notifying her…

"_Who could this be?" _upon clicking the chat box, it was none other than Hinata who wanted to chat with her

"Hey it's Hinata!" she muttered with delight, reading her friend's chat message

Her profile picture is just a simple portrait of her showing her trademark smile and wink

"Hey Tiffany! Long time, no chat!" her profile picture shows her in the French maid outfit she bought

"Hey also Hinata! Yeah, it's been a long time since we've communicated…"

"Yup, it sure is LOL"

"Hold on, is that you in a French maid outfit?"

"Oh you noticed! Yes that's me… LOL… am I adorable or what?"

"You're more than adorable, you're so cute or as you say it there… Kawaii"

"Ha ha, thank you! And I noticed that you're improving in your Nihonggo dialect!"

"Yeah, I've been listening to those J-pop singers you and Natsu always enjoy listening to… I grew to love it"

"Wow, I'm happy to hear that… keep it up Tiffany!"

"I will… so what's up?"

"Well, not much going on recently here…"

"Oh… same here as well… LOL"

"Okay-Dokay; Hey, guess what? There's gonna be a 5-school reunion that will take place next month! =D"

"I know; Boman sent me an invitation…"

"Oh LOL are you attending it?"

"Of course I will!"

"YAY! Natsu and I get to see you again! =D =D =D =D"

"Same here, and who would've thought that it will take place in your school!"

"IKR? =D"

**-DAY 2-**

Mid-afternoon

Tiffany's just relaxing at her bed, listening to her iPod while reading a teen girls' lifestyle magazine, specifically the fashion section since she herself is a lover of glamorous clothes, accessories and the like; looking at each page containing the latest fashion trends, she indulges herself, sometimes listing the ones that she finds cute and lovely for her. Turning from page to page, she stumbles on a page containing a topic that's been in her mind recently, love. The topic is **"How to have a long lasting relationship with your boyfriend"** Each of the pages shows young couples together in various sweet and touching moments with sub texts showing suggestions on how to be in a loyal relationship

Coincidentally, the song on her iPod changes to a slow and moody love ballad, making her feeling a bit blue and somber, especially when **he** comes to her mind all the time

Every page she turns, it shows a couple at a random romantic moment; every page she sees, the more emotional and moody she gets, a mere contrast from her cheerful, bubble-headed and funky self.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she stopped reading and closed the magazine, at the same time the moody romantic ballad she's been listening to has ended as well.

To get away from the blues, she checked her e-mail again and to her luck, she received 4 new messages.

Carefully and cautiously, she read each one of them. The first one is just an inspirational quote her mother sent her; the second one is just a warm greeting from her uncle and aunt from a far away state they're living and the last 2 are from Natsu and Hinata. She clicked on the former's message:

"Yo Tiffany! How's it going there in the land of milk and honey? LOL

It's been a very long time since we communicated with each other after you returned to the U.S.

I found out recently that you were chatting with Hinata the other day, she seemed very happy that she's able to communicate with you again

Anyways, I heard that Boman sent you the invitation about the reunion and I'm happy to know that you'll be attending; Hinata and I are so excited to see you again after all these years!

Bring some souvenirs along with you! LOL JK

Take care and I miss you

Yours truly, Natsu…"

By the end of the message, is a picture of the three of them sitting on a bench with the background consisting of all Sakura trees with some leaves falling on the ground; it features them in casual attire and smiling at the camera held by Hinata. It was during that time that Tiffany's friendship with the two of them has gotten very close and since then, they became BFFs or Best Friends Forever

"_Oh, I haven't seen that picture for a while now" _

Upon seeing the picture, she happily replies:

"Hi Natsu! I'm glad you still remembered me LOL JK

I'm doing fine here as usual; having fun and stuff like that

Yeah, Hinata was so very joyful when we chatted the other day, not to mention how cute she is wearing that French maid outfit LOL

Honestly, I'm very, and I mean, **very** excited about the upcoming reunion this coming April 28!

I can't wait to see everyone I know there, especially you and Hinata!

And I'll try to bring some souvenirs along with me when I travel back there =D

From your BFF, Tiffany! 3 3 3 3"

Finished with Natsu's message, she clicked on Hinata's message… which isn't that long to read…

"Hi Tiffany! Watch this video I sent you! This is my imagination of how you and Roy met! Enjoy!"

"_Hinata sent me a video? I wonder what it is all about."_

Without hesitating, she clicked on the video link, creating a new tab on the browser; the tab is on YouTube. To her surprise, it's a music video for the song _"I've Finally Found Someone"_ by Bryan Adams & Barbra Streisand. She watches the whole video with a passionate smile on her face. Her special talent (if it really does count) is making exciting displays of affection. With the video ended, she feels happy and closed the tab.

She replied to Hinata:

"Aww, that's so thoughtful of you Hinata! I enjoyed the song, I really do, and it's one of my favorite love songs ever! I'll be honest; I was quite surprised by this message of yours! I REALLY LOVE IT!

Arigato Gozaimasu!" she ends it with a few of her knowledge in Japanese dialect.

Before she can log out, her chat box came up like the previous day, she clicked on it

This time, it's Natsu who wants to have a chat…

"Tiffany! What's up? =D" her profile picture shows her in her Gorin school uniform with volleyball in hand

"Natsu! I'm fine as always, I miss you and Hinata!"

"We both miss you as well… I'm happy you noticed Hinata in her French maid outfit"

"Yeah, it really suits her"

"Sure does…"

"It'll suit you too as well… =D"

"LOL I don't think so!"

"Why not? =D"

"Oh never mind…"

"LOL OK then, so how's everything going on for you tight now?"

"Doing fine except for being a P.E. coach for an elementary school, which I find very fun"

"Wow, good to hear that…"

"How about you? Anything going on in there?"

"Just living the simple life everyday… =D"

"Hehe lucky you, then again you're family is very wealthy…"

"Yeah, although I am having plans to apply for a part-time job; you know, for fun"

"That's good, keep planning!"

"Domo arigato!"

Her Nihonggo dialect surprised Natsu "Wow! You're improving in Nihonggo now! XD"

"LOL I'm happy you noticed!"

"Where, I mean, when did you suddenly get so good in it?"

"It's all thanks to those J-pop artists that you and Hinata love listening to; after listening to them for quite some time, I grew to love it and that's where I learned some Japanese words and phrases! =D"

"Amazing! I feel so flattered by it! LOL =D"

"Thanks again =D"

"Anytime Tiffany!"

"BTW, do you have a webcam?"

"Yeah I do"

"Oh good, same here! We can see each other via Skype!"

"Yeah! Sounds like a good idea!"

"Try to bring Hinata along with you!"  
>"I will!"<p>

"What time will you be available?"

"I can't determine since we're in 2 different countries and the time zones are different"

"Yeah, makes sense"

"If I were you, prepare at around midnight at your place while Hinata and I will prepare in the morning here"

"OK, then it's settled!"

"Yup, we'll be waiting!"

"Yeah… =D"

**-DAY 3-**

Except for her, everyone is asleep in the house. Earlier that day, she installed a webcam onto her laptop. It's almost midnight and she's not yet sleepy; she wants to chat with her overseas friends as planned yesterday

Her entire room is a bit dim save for the lamp on her desk

She looks at the mirror, making sure she looks neat

Adjusting the webcam, she makes sure it works

"_Good it works"_

With everything ready, all she does is wait. After waiting for almost 15 minutes, there's already a sign

"_Finally" _

On the webcam window, she sees Natsu and Hinata

"_OMG it's them!" _she thought at the very first sight of them

"Natsu its Tiffany!"

"Hey it is her!" "HI TIFFANY!" they greeted in unison

"HEY GUYS!" she greeted back "Long time, no see you two!"

"It sure is!"

"You still look pretty as before!"

"You think so? Thanks Hinata!"

"And I notice you're bust is getting bigger, bigger than mine!" joked Natsu

*chuckles* "You noticed that as well, arigato Natsu!"

"Oh it's the first time we heard you speak perfect Nihonggo!" Hinata took notice

"Sounds good too"

"To both of you, Arigato Gozaimasu" she received applause from both of them

"Bravo! Bravo!" said Natsu

"Arigato again… whose house is that by the way?"

"Mine!" answered Hinata "Natsu and I are just next door neighbors FYI!" they're chatting from the living room

"Wow, no wonder I always see you two together"

"Yup, ever since we were kids!"

"Cool…"

"Is that your room?" Hinata got curious

"Yes it is"

"Wow, looks so beautiful and cute!"

"You really think so?"

"I honestly do! I wish my room's like yours!"

"Thank you! Where's your French Maid outfit?"

"In the cleaners, ha-ha"

"I see, I guess you wore too much?"

"Yeah, she sure did" Natsu joined in

"Ha-ha OK, I know a bit of Japanese fashion myself"

"You do?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Hinata…"

"Yeah?"

"You wearing that French maid outfit along with a pair of cat ears will make you even cuter!"

"Oh thank you, but I did that before already"

"Oh I see ha-ha"

"Do you know what those pair of cat ears is called?"

"Wait, don't tell me, it's, its neko-, neko… Fine, tell me"

"Nekomimi"

"There!"

"Ha-ha why did you mention something like that?"

"Because, I've seen a lot of girls wearing something like that in anime festivals here"

"Oh cool, wait Americans love anime too?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh, I didn't know that"

"You have a lot to learn about my country"

"We can say the same to you!" Natsu butted in. All three shared a laugh


	3. Departure

Having enjoyed her chit-chat with her BFFS from Japan, she went to bed with a smile on her face, not after looking at their picture together again posted on her wall next to her bed

Tiffany woke up the morning. Stretching her body, she let out a yawn

"_Seeing Natsu and Hinata again in the flesh really made my day" _she thought, looking out the window, seeing the bright morning sky.

Heading to the bathroom, she brushes her teeth and fixed her hair

She looks at her complexion at the mirror and discovers that she has eye bags

"No, I have eye bags" she's known to be very cautious of her appearance, especially when it comes to her face

She tried applying cream to her face, but it show little results

"Crap… oh well" she moaned in disappointment

Upon exiting the bathroom, she came across her mother already in office attire

"Tiffany, you're already awake…"

"I guess I am…" *chuckles*

"Well anyways, breakfast is ready"

"OK mom… Where's dad?"

"He already left for work early"

"Oh yeah, forgot that both of you have different schedules" she heads down stairs, straight to the dining table

Minutes later, her mother joined in

She noticed her daughter's dark eye bags "Honey…"

"What is it mom?" she took a spoonful in her mouth

"Looks like you didn't sleep well last night"

"What makes you say that?"

"You have dark eye bags…"

"I know… I slept late last night"

"What? Why?"

"You know why? I was chatting with my BFFs from Japan via webcam!"

It delighted her mother "Oh my! Is that so?"

"Yup, it was a very fun moment the three of us had"

"Well I'm happy for you. What are their names again?"

"Natsu Ayuhara and Hinata Wanabe"

"Oh yes. Natsu is the volleyball player, am I correct?"

"Yes that's her"

"And Hinata is the typical school girl, right?"

"Absolutely!" she finished eating, so does her mother

"I'm happy that you three still remember each other after a long time"

"Yeah, it sure is" her mother checked her watch and realized that she should be on her way to work

"Oh look at the time, Tiffany dear I'll be off to work now"

"Oh OK mom"

Mrs. Lords grabs her bag and is already by the door "Please watch over the house"

"I will mom"

"And don't let any strangers come in here"

"Mom, I'm already old enough to know that…"

*chuckles* "I know, sorry dear" she's about to leave "Bye Tiffany"

"Bye mom, take care!"

With all that said and done, all she can hear outside is the sound of the starting engine running from the family car. She immediately locks the door

With her mom off to work, she has the house all by herself.

"_Finally, I'm all alone; I can do whatever I want now!"_

"What to do first?" looking around, she first caught the sight of the two plates on the table she and her mother used awhile ago.

"Oh right, gotta wash the dishes first…" she placed both used plates on the sink and started rinsing and cleaning them.

Now clean, she puts them back in the cabinet.

Before she can indulge herself with fun time, she checks the whole house, inside and out in case there's something filthy or untidy to deal with and much to her relief, her entire house is tidy

"Good, nothing in disarray, both inside and outside"she muttered. Before going back in, she checks if everything is secured, from windows to doors, everything is secured. Having done so, she went back in

Now she can just have fun and relax… with free time on her side

She did some exercise workouts while watching T.V, showing a fitness instructor along with some students doing the same. Tiffany did this for 30 minutes

Still in an active mood, she changes the channel to another fitness program; this time it's yoga.

Due to her experience as a Pacific cheerleader and thanks to her curvy figure, she is able to stretch parts of her body to amazing lengths with ease; like the previous one, this workout lasted for another 30 minutes

Now exhausted, she just lies on the couch and surfs for a good show to watch. Channel after channel after channel, she sees nothing that can entertain her. _"Nothing good on right now…"_

Giving up, she just turned off the television and rested her head for a bit.

"_What to do, what to do, what to do…" _keeps playing in her mind _"Oh right! Why didn't I do it minutes ago…?"_

Getting up from the couch, she heads for her room

Going back downstairs, she brought along with her laptop and other stuff at the living room.

Organizing each one of them, her boredom faded away _"This is the life…"_

Checking the time, it's already 10:35am

"_Hmm, how time flies…"_

She decided to pass the time by reading a recent issue of an entertainment magazine.

Passing each page, she gets updated of the current scoops of her favorite celebrities and music artists, not to mention the fashion trends that they popularize.

Turning to the next page, it shows a brand of popular perfumes and other beauty products. She had her eyes gazed at them.

"I wanna get me some of those…" she looked at each of the perfume's price and scent

Next page shows an advertisement of a new set of lingerie being sponsored by her favorite celebrity

"Wow, I like these… and she's the perfect pick as the sponsor for it"

Now finish reading it, she sets it aside. Feeling thirsty, she grabbed a glass and a bottle of melon juice from the fridge and went back to what she's doing.

Searching through the stack of magazines she brought along, one of them stands out among the other ones. She picked it and browsed at it, it's a Japanese lifestyle magazine that Natsu and Hinata bought for her as a souvenir before she went back to the U.S. The magazine is all about Japanese life, pop culture and entertainment

Just looking and touching it made her feel a bit nostalgic for a bit…

**-A DAY BEFORE HER FLIGHT BACK HOME-**

-Inside her Pacific dorm-

"_Yo Tiffany!" called out Natsu_

"_What is it?"_

"_Hinata and I have something for you"_

"_Really? You have something for me?"_

"_We sure do, Hinata, if you may do the honors?"_

"_Of course Natsu!" Hinata showed her something in her hands "Here you go Tiffany!"_

"_Oh it's a magazine…"_

"_Not just a magazine, it covers everything about the life, pop culture and entertainment here"_

"_Wow, you don't say!" she browsed it for a brief moment "Oh my, it's cool!"_

"_You really think so?"_

"_Yeah, I'm not lying! I don't see many magazines like this back home"_

"_We're glad you liked it!" Joined in Natsu" Take good care of it!"_

"_It's a remembrance gift when you get back home to America!" added Hinata "So whenever you read it, you'll immediately remember me and Natsu! Don't worry, we got the English version so that you can read it with ease"_

"_Aww, you two truly deserve to be called my BFFs!"_

"_BFFs?" both have no idea what it means "Sorry Tiffany but Hinata and I are not that familiar with American slangs"_

"_It's alright. BFF means Best Friends Forever!"_

"_Oh, now we know! Thanks Tiffany!" thanked Natsu. Then, they both received a surprise hug from her_

"_Natsu and Hinata…"_

"_Yeah?" they both said in unison_

"_I wanna say thank you for being my close friends! I'll miss both of you!"_

_Her words touched both of their hearts "Aww, we'll miss you too Tiffany!" _

"_I hope we see each other again in the future!" Hinata almost in tears_

_They had a group hug for a moment…_

That tender memory made her smile and day dream for a brief moment. She began reading the remembrance gift they both got her. She hadn't read it for quite some time now except when she was on board the plane heading back home.

Looking at the magazine, the front cover shows a Japanese girl in a maid outfit with a camera on her right hand and her left hand doing the V-gesture

Opening it for the first time, she already feels nostalgic _"Ha-ha, they're right, once I read this, I already think of them…"_

Browsing them one by one, she enjoys every moment reading and looking at each page since it shows her the lifestyle of the Land of the rising sun.

After some time, she finished reading it. Before putting it aside along with the previous ones, she noticed something on the back cover of it.

Looking closely, it's a short memo written by them, it says:

"For our best friend, Tiffany Lords… We'll miss you!

Sincerely yours, Hinata and Natsu"

It ends with a pair of smileys

"_It's just now I noticed this… Thanks you two!" _ She took a sip of melon juice from her glass.

Checking the time again, it's now 11:20am…

She feels sleepy all of a sudden _*yawns*_ "Man, I'm sleepy, it's because I slept late…"

Feeling tired, she lied down on the couch and closed her eyes. Immediately, she fell into a slumber…

Now sound asleep, she begins to have a dream about the good times she had with Natsu & Hinata. The dream in particular when three of them are having fun singing karaoke

**-INSIDE A KARAOKE ROOM-**

"_Wow, so this is the karaoke room?"_

"_Yup, is the very first time for you to be here?" answered Natsu_

"_Absolutely, back home, I don't see many places where there are karaoke machines in it"_

"_No kidding…" all three entered one karaoke booth and sat down_

"_So this is where you two mostly hang out at?" she looked around the area since its very new to her_

"_That's right, Tiffany. Hinata just loves to sing her heart out"_

"_You don't say"_

"_I do say, just look at her" both observed Hinata clearing her throat_

"_Eh Hinata"_

"_Yes Tiffany?"_

"_You always prepare yourself when about to sing karaoke?"_

"_Why of course I do; I love singing!"_

"_It's her passion by the way"_

"_How about you Tiffany? Do you sing?"_

"_Not much, but I do enjoy doing it though…"_

"_So who's up first?"_

"_Me of course!" she raised her hand in the air_

"_The stage's yours, Hinata!"_

_While she searches for a song to sing in the songbook…_

"_Hey Tiffany"_

"_Yeah Natsu?"_

"_Wanna be next in line after Hinata?"_

"_No!"_

"_Let's play Rock Paper Scissors and we'll see who'll be singing after Hinata!"_

"_You're on!" after 3 close calls, Tiffany earned the victory "Yes! I'm last!"_

"_That can't be!" Natsu couldn't believe it_

"_What's going on?"_

"_Natsu will be singing after you"_

"_Oh… alright then, and you'll be singing last?"_

_Tiffany just nodded with a grin on her face, much to Natsu's chagrin_

_After all are done singing, the scores are as follows:_

_Hinata – 100_

_Natsu – 98_

_Tiffany – 89_

"_Once again, Hinata is the victor!"_

"_Congratulations Hinata!"_

"_Thanks Natsu! Thanks Tiffany!" they had a group hug_

That dream made her giggle a bit in her sleep. Turning to her right side, she adjusts her sleeping position. Her dreams now changed; it shifted from a karaoke night with Natsu & Hinata to everything about him, the boy she has fallen in love with, Roy Bromwell.

All she can dream of right now are moments that feature him in the scene.

The moments she's dreaming of are:

Back in their previous school before going overseas, at a football game, she's one of the cheerleaders cheering on for their team, with him being the star quarterback of the team

Paying a visit to various U.S. monuments like the Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial and among many others

The two of them along with Boman investigating about the school kidnappings during the events of _Rival Schools_

Along with the rest of the other Pacific High students, enjoying a trip to the beach with her among the many girls hanging out with him

Both of them returning to Japan to investigate once more in the events of _Project Justice_ and to return back home after

Those moments made her scrunch her eyes a bit and turned back to the position she was in when she first slept

The next dream she's having now is like straight out of a romance movie…

_Walking in an empty park at sundown, she saw him standing there, like he's been expecting her to arrive. "Roy?"_

_He heard her call out his name and turned around "Tiffany…" The distance between them is not that far_

_They looked at each other for a brief moment_

_In his case, just looking at her made him smile_

_While in her case, looking at him made her very emotional and without hesitating, she ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his head, surprising him_

_He remained silent, but the element of surprise is showing on his face. She looked back at him with puppy dog eyes "Roy, I love you!" saying those words, she kissed him _(you know, similar to the game) _and held on to it for a bit longer before letting go. The lip locking made him pull out a wide smile_

_She gave him the puppy eye look again "Roy Bromwell, I love you…" mentioning that phrase once more to him_

_Without a reply, he placed both his hands on her face, making her blush "Tiffany Lords…" is all he said, followed by another surprise kiss, her eyes widened as a result. Finishing it off, he told her "I love you too…" Hearing him say that is all that she wanted to hear for long, and she smiled. "Oh Roy…" The couple hugged each other as the clouds in the sky are shaped as hearts pierced with an arrow_

That scene really got to her; it got to her so much that she woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she took another sip of melon juice from her glass.

"_What the… it's already 12:30pm… I slept that long?"_

She tries to go back to sleep, but it didn't work since that dream seemed to have kept her awake like she had a cup of high caffeinated coffee

"It's all a dream…" she muttered, when her stomach grumbled

"I haven't eaten lunch yet" she searched the fridge for anything that can quench her hunger

Taking out a piece of strawberry cake on a saucer plate, she brings it along with her at the couch.

She turned on her laptop; while waiting, she took another sip of melon juice

Her laptop now on, she logged into Facebook. The only things she noticed in her profile are 0 friend requests, 3 messages and 6 notifications. She first checked the messages. 1st message comes from one of her Pacific buddies; it says:

"Hey Tiffany!

Just saying hi! How's everything going on for you now? Miss ya!" She replied back immediately:

"Hi Maureen! Hi also to you! I'm fine as usual LOL I miss you too!"

2nd message came from a fan page she liked; having read it, she immediately deleted it

3rd and last message came from Natsu:

It's a picture of both her and Hinata dressed up as the Statue of Liberty and posing like it as well

On the bottom of the picture is a caption that reads:

"WE MISS YOU TIFFANY! SEE YOU AT THE REUNION!"

Flattered, she replies:

"You two look gorgeous in those costumes! So cool! Yeah, I'll be seeing you both at the reunion!"

She took a couple of bites out of the strawberry cake

Looking at the notifications, three of them are Hinata liking 3 of her profile pictures; one is Natsu had liked and commented on her status and the last one is Hinata sent her a request to join an event.

Checking out what event it is, it's none other than the reunion. The number of people attending is more than she thought, exceeding 80. The number of those who might attend is less than 40. Those who are not attending are above 20. Those who haven't replied yet are only 6. She checked those who will attend; aside from Natsu, Hinata and most of her Pacific buddies, specifically Boman, some of the names on the list are those whom she met or encountered during the _Rival Schools_ era; but she's disappointed that Roy's name isn't on the list. _"Oh no…"_ Worried, she checked the other 2 lists and searched carefully for his name, it isn't in any of the lists. _"No, no, no…"_ she checked the list of those who haven't replied and to her relief his name is there along with 5 others. _"So he and 5 others have yet to reply, I hope he replies yes…"_

Returning to the home page, all she sees are just some random updates from her other friends like status updates, profile picture changing etc.

She passed the time by playing one of her favorite games. It's been a while since she leveled up the last time she played it.

Now 3 weeks before the reunion, she's nervous just thinking about it.

A sunny afternoon at the Lords' residence

Tiffany and her mother are just staying at the living room. Her mother doing business-related stuff and Tiffany is, just like yesterday, sitting at the couch reading a bunch of fashion magazines.

"Umm, Mom…"

"What is it honey?"

"I'm meaning to tell you something"

"Sure, go ahead"

"You know my friends Natsu and Hinata right?"

"Yes why?"

"They invited to me to a school reunion this April 28 in Japan and I was wondering if you can let me attend"

"You want to attend it?"

"Yeah I really want to"

"And my answer is "Yes"…"

"Thanks mom! FYI, it's no ordinary school reunion, it's an alumni homecoming!"

"5 schools?"

"Yeah. Taiyo, Gorin, Gedo, Seijyun and, of course my school, Pacific"

"Oh I see…"

"So is it a yes or a no?"

"My dear, my answer is "Yes"

"Thanks mom!"

"Anything for you dear; is everyone gonna be there?"

"I checked the guest list on Facebook and I see that many people will be there"

"I see… when is it again?"

"April 28"

"Oh… so when do you wanna depart for Japan?"

"1 week or earlier"

"What day?"

"Any day is good as long as it's not too late"

"OK, I'll check the flight schedule and purchase the ticket online"

"Alright, thanks again mom"

Now 2 weeks before the event; who knows what's going on in her bubbly mind right now

In her room, she's just watching random videos of puppies on YouTube

"Aww, I want to have a puppy like that!" she muttered on one video featuring a 3-month old St. Bernard playing.

Continuing to indulge herself with just watching the video, a knock came on her door

"Who is it?"

"It's your mother dear. I have something that you'll obviously like"

"_I bet it's the ticket"_ she opened the door. "I already have your ticket. Your flight will depart on April 16, Saturday at 4:00pm"

Tiffany is overjoyed "Yay! Thanks mom!" she gave her a hug. "I'm a tell Natsu and Hinata about this!"

"I'm sure they'll be overjoyed by the news! Wait, I bet they're asleep right about now"

"I know, I'll send them a message now so I won't have to do it later"

"That does make sense… Anyways, I'll just prepare lunch. I'll let you know when it's ready"

"Alright mom" she went straight for her laptop, logging in to both her Yahoo! And Facebook account

**-IN JAPAN-**

In Natsu's house, Hinata's playing with her PSP while Natsu's checking her mail and Tiffany's message immediately caught her attention

"Hinata, I've received a message from Tiffany!"

"No kidding!" she stopped playing and joined her in reading the message which reads:

"Good news! I already received my ticket! I'll be departing on April 16, Saturday!

I'll be there in 2 weeks before the reunion! We can have fun roaming around!

OMG I'm so excited to see both of you again!

See you soon!

P.S. I'll see what the things I can give you for souvenirs are

LOL"

As mentioned by her mother, both are overjoyed.

"Tiffany's gonna be here on April 16! That's Saturday!"

Hinata couldn't be any happier "YAHOO! We get to see her again! And she'll give us souvenirs as well!" she jumped in joy

"You said it! I can't wait to see her face again!"

"We'll meet her at the airport, we shouldn't be late Hinata"

"Yes ma'am!" she playfully saluted

**-April 16-**

The day has come…

Now 11:00 AM, just 4 hours before her flight to Japan

Done having brunch with her mother, she went straight up stairs and took a shower

Inside the bathroom, her thoughts regarding her trip to Japan, meeting them both again for the first time and the reunion, not to mention whether Roy will be there or not come into play

She remembered what she saw on Facebook, his name and 5 others have not yet replied. It bothered her a bit.

"_Oh Roy, please attend the reunion. If he doesn't attend, I don't know how I'll react to it"_

Done showering, she exits the bathroom with a bathrobe on and a towel wrapped on her head and went to her room.

Changing into casual and attractive attire, she applied make up on her face and fixed her hair reminiscent to how she styled it during her time as a Pacific student.

"Tiffany, are you done taking a bath?" her mom knocked

"Yeah…" she went in "Hmm, that attire's good enough for Natsu and Hinata to see you in…"

"Thanks mom"

"Welcome dear, start packing your stuff right now because we'll be leaving soon"

"I'm on it… where is the airport?"

"Kinda far, almost an hour from here. I'll be taking a bath now"

"OK mom" she left and took a shower

Grabbing her luggage from the closet, she carefully picked out the clothes she'll bring along with her on the trip. Now finish selecting clothes for her to bring, she turned to the personal stuff she'll bring as well. Among those things is her make-up, accessories, personal gadgets, etc.

She didn't forget to bring with her two favorite photo albums and the remembrance gift they both gave her, the Japanese lifestyle magazine

Minutes passed, her luggage is all set. "I think that's good enough" She looked around her room for anything she might forget to include in her luggage, which she did. "Oh right, my laptop!" she muttered, putting it in its small bag and taking it with her

"_I hope that's all of it"_

Then her mom, now done showering, opened the door "Done packing?"

"Yeah, that was kind of a quick shower you had"

"Is it?" *chuckles* "Anyways, I'll just dress up. Wait downstairs"

"Yes mom" bringing both her luggage and laptop along, she turned off the lights and everything, about to leave her room.

Before locking the door, the picture of her and Roy caught her eyes, causing her to stop in her tracks. Without hesitating, she snatched it, putting it in her pocket and locked her door; she immediately went downstairs. Sitting on the couch, she waited for her mom to come down

Passing the time by just sitting on the couch, she wonders about how the sequence of events will occur. Will it meet her expectations or will it be more than that?

Moments later, her mom is now downstairs "Did I keep you waiting?"

"Not really mom"

"Alright, let's go"

Both mother and daughter are now in the car

"All buckled up dear?"

"Yup"

"That's a lot of stuff you stuffed in there. What's in it?"

"Everything I need…" *giggles*

"OK then" she started the car and backs up "Off we go"

On the busy road, they had a conversation regarding her trip and the reunion

"A 5-school reunion eh?"

"Yeah, sounds kinda new right?"

"I'll say. Aside from your school, what are the other 4?"

"Hinata's school Taiyo; Natsu's school Gorin, Gedo and Seijyun"

"I see. Don't you have any friends from the last 2 schools you mentioned?"

"Nope. I don't know anyone there"

"Alright; whatever happened to that elite school Justice?"

"It was burned down"

"Really? What happened?"

"It's a long story mom"

Since the airport is an hour away from their home, it was a long drive.

Tiffany fell into a snooze.

45 minutes passed and their still on the road, but their almost near the airport and she starts to wake up

"Did you sleep well?"

"I think so? Are we near the airport?"

"As a matter of fact, yes"

"Finally…" she muttered. Just a few miles before the car reaches the airport, traffic occurs

"Oh great traffic"

Tiffany just sulked in silence

"Anyways it's still 12:45pm; you're flight is still on 4pm"

"True. I just want to be there sooner"

"Well, we have no choice but to wait for the traffic to disperse; how about I turn on the radio to ease your stress?"

"Go ahead." Her mom tuned into a station playing some modern age hits "What song is this? I don't know who sang this but it sounds terrible"

"Allow me mom. Today's music sucks anyway" she tuned into a random station playing a Japanese pop song.

"Wow, is that in Japanese?"

"Yup" her stress eased as expected

"I'm quite surprised that you love listening to music like this. Do you even understand it?"

"Depends on the song" then a love song in English starts playing _"Hey I know this song…"_

"Oh I love this song!" her mom turned up the volume a bit. The song playing is "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion

The soft and relaxing melody made her and her mother relax as they wait for the traffic to end.

On the right side of their car is a navy blue van playing some intense rock music. Unknown to Tiffany, the occupants of the van are none other than Roy, who is behind the wheel and his 5 buddies, more known to them as "HTMLL" and the ones who have yet to reply on the reunion event on Facebook

"Man this sucks! Traffic at a time like this? I mean come on!" one of them complained

"I agree with you dude, but it'll all be over soon"

"Can't wait for what's in store for us guys!"

"Yes sir! The Rolling Stones Autograph signing at the Hard Rock Café!"

"I'm getting Goosebumps just thinking about it!"

"Meeting the Rolling Stones in person? Oh man it's like a dream come true!"

"I know right?"

After 10 grueling minutes, traffic has ended

"Thank goodness the traffic's over" her mom muttered, stepping on the engine

Tiffany remained silent, her eyes focused on the road ahead of her, without a single clue that the love of her life is just right next to her

"Oh finally the traffic's gone!" Roy muttered, stepping on the engine, accelerating the van

"Hard Rock Café here we come!" All 6 of them cheered, speeding down the road leaving some skid marks behind them

Having arrived at the airport, Tiffany is set to leave for her flight to Japan

"Take care on your trip Tiffany!"

"I will mom, don't worry about me"

"Have fun there!"

"You know I will mom!" both mother and daughter embraced each other

Now onboard the plane, she looked out the window of the plane, seeing her mom leaving the airport

With the plane finally taking off, she wonders how everything will go when she arrives there…

"_Natsu, Hinata, the reunion…"_

"Roy…" she said in a soft voice


	4. Preparations

**-IN JAPAN-**

Early evening

Natsu and Hinata, now at the airport, await their friend's arrival anytime

"What time do you think she'll be arriving Natsu?"

"Beats me, America is very, very far from here"

"Yeah, that makes sense"

"Say, while we wait, let's grab something to eat"

"Sure thing! I'm still hungry even after having dinner at my house"

Having stuffed their stomachs with various snacks, all they have to do now is to wait for her arrival.

Since her flight takes a few days or more, they decided to spend the night at the airport until she arrives

After a few days passed, she finally arrived at the airport

With luggage in hand, she walked around, looking around the airport in awe. Then again, it's been a very long time she hasn't seen Japan.

"_Wow, major changes here. I love it…" _she boarded an escalator, leading to the airport's main entrance

Getting off the escalator, she's greeted by two familiar voices

"Tiffany over here!"

They're they are, excited to see her…

She's happy and delighted to see her BFFs again in person for the first time

"Natsu! Hinata!" unable hold her excitement she ran towards them and give them both a warm embrace

"Long time no see, you two!"

"Natsu & I can say the same to you as well!"

"That's some luggage you have with you!"

"Yeah, it's got everything I need"

After the short reunion, they chatted as they walked towards the outside entrance

"How was your flight?"

"Obviously long but very relaxing and soothing, I was able to clear my mind when I was in the plane"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hinata didn't seem to get the picture

"Ever since I've been informed of this reunion, it's been stuck on my mind for some time"  
>"Oh don't let it bother you that much Tiffany"<p>

"I know, I'm just excited that's all"

"And so are we!"

They finally reached the airport's main entrance

"Wait here you two, I'll call for a taxi" Hinata waited for a taxi to come pick them up

"Say Natsu"

"What is it Tiffany?"

"I like your pants"

"You do?"

"Yeah I'm not even lying. They look cute on you"

The Gorin volleyball player's pleasantly surprised at what she said "My! It's the first time someone complimented my choice of attire"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Speaking of giving compliments, I like the smell of your perfume"

"Why thank you. I bought it after seeing it on a magazine I was reading"

"Cool. That reminds me where's the one that Hinata & I-"

"It's with me! I read it many times and I never get fed up of it!"

"Whoa! You really, really love it!"

"You betcha!" she showed Natsu her signature smile and wink

"Hey guys! The taxi's here!" Hinata called them

"Well come on, taxi's here"

"Alright" both are going towards the taxi's location

Now all three are in the taxi and at the backseat

"Where are we heading to?"

"First stop is to our neighborhood. Hinata's been bugging me to let you see both of our homes" Hinata just snickered

"Nice. So both of you live in the same neighborhood, am I correct?"

"Positive"

"Since Hinata & I were still kids"

"Nice, so where is this place?"

"Not too far from here, just a couple of miles"

"Oh. That's different back home because the airport is one hour away from where I live"

"I see"

Several minutes later, the taxi finally arrived at their place

Tiffany grabbed her luggage from the trunk

"Domo arigato!" all three said in unison to the taxi driver as he took off

"Tiffany, again, we're really impressed by your improved speaking of the Japanese dialect!" complimented Natsu

Her only reply was a cute smile "So this is where you two live eh? Very simple"

"Simple indeed"

They're in front of one of their houses "whose house is that?"

"Mine"

"Wow, it's more than ordinary than I thought"

"Yeah, the design's **too** ordinary even for me"

"Alright then… Can I take a look inside your house?"

"Sure you can! Every one of my friends are invited!" she unlocked the door and opened it

"I'm home!" she greeted upon entering; only to realize there's no one inside

"_Alone again as usual…"_

"Where is the rest of your family?" Tiffany wondered

"Oh her family's always out, leaving her as the main house sitter almost every day" Natsu answered

"Oh. Don't you feel bored or anything?"

"Not one bit at all" she removed her shoes. So did Natsu but not Tiffany

"Oh Tiffany, we forgot to tell you that you should remove your shoes when entering someone's house…"

"Is it really necessary?"

"In Japan yes"

"Oh right, I remember now!" she does the same

The childhood friends gave their American friend a tour of the house

"Alright then, let's go visit my room!"

Reaching upstairs, they went in to her room. It's filled with much stuff that truly fits her interests, like posters of her favorite anime characters and music artists

Tiffany is in awe upon her first glance of her room

"OMG Hinata you're room so cute!"

"Thanks Tiffany!"

The Pacific cheerleader continued to look around, praising the cuteness of its appearance

"What's that Hinata?" she pointed to something she finds unfamiliar

"That's my most prized possession, a figurine of my favorite anime character"

"Oh OK. Sorry for asking such a dumb question, I just don't know much about anime"

"It's OK, you will soon!" Hinata encouraged her

"And is that your maid outfit!" Tiffany noticed

"Ah yes! It arrived here a few days ago"

"Planning on wearing it again?" she joked

"At a Cosplay Festival of course!"

"Tiffany, here's a simple something Hinata made some time ago" Natsu showed her a piece of paper; it contains a simple sketch art featuring the three of them in their _Rival Schools_-era clothing. She looked at it and is impressed by it

"Wow, it looks good, especially on how I look!" she complimented

"Gee thanks Tiffany! Hey Natsu! Where'd you found that?"

"I found it under your cabinet"

"Oh… I was looking for it for weeks, I thought I lost it"

"It won't be anymore!" she grinned

"Thank you!"

"My pleasure!"

Staying in the room for several more minutes, they exited her house

"Some place you got there Hinata" Tiffany complimented "Now I know what the typical Japanese house looks like inside and out"

"I'm flattered, thank you!"

"Anytime! So where do we go next? Natsu's place?"

"Yuppers! Let's get a move on shall we?"

Natsu's house is a just a short walking distance from Hinata's

"Wow Natsu, your house is almost as simple as Hinata's"

"Yeah I get that a lot" she unlocks the front door and everyone enters, removing their shoes

"Well Tiffany, welcome to the Ayuhara residence"

"It has class, I'll say"

"Class you say? What makes you say that?"

"It's too complex for words"*giggles*

"Alright then wanna see my room?"

"With pleasure!"

Unlike at Hinata's home, Natsu's room is just near the kitchen

Her room is also decorated with things with connection to her interests, mostly about volleyball. Her wall's mostly covered with posters of her favorite volleyball players

"The typical room for a sports loving person"

"You noticed? Thanks"

"Do you play any other sports aside from volleyball?"

"Now that you mentioned it, no"

"Hey Tiffany, did you know that Natsu led her school volleyball team to many victories in many tournaments?"

"You're kidding!"

"She isn't, look" she proudly shows off her trophies and medals

"Wow! Congratulations Natsu!"

"Thank you!" she jokingly bowed down, causing them both to laugh their butts off

"You don't need to do that!" joked Hinata

"Why not?" *chuckles*

Feeling happy and all, they left as usual.

"Both of your rooms are as cool as mine!"

The two childhood friends replied with a friendly smile.

"Since it's just two weeks before that school reunion, let's say we roam around and have fun!"

"Tiffany you read my mind!" exclaimed Hinata

"I wanna have fun too as well. But first-"

"But first?" Hinata butted in.

"We have to do something with your luggage there"

"Oh yeah, that make sense"

"Can I leave them in one of your homes?" they both disagreed "NO" they said in unison

"On our way to the airport to pick you up, we saw your Pacific dorm" explained Hinata

"You both saw my dorm? Is it still usable?"

"I believe so"

"So we figure that you leave your stuff there" added Natsu

"OK then, let's go to my dorm!"

Having arrived at her dorm via taxi, Tiffany couldn't be any happier to see her High School dorm again for the first time

"OMG! I can't believe my dorm is still here!" she jumped in excitement, much to the embarrassment of Hinata and Natsu

"I guess she really misses this place don't you think Hinata?"

"I agree with you a 100%. I mean look at her, it's like she's homesick or something"

"Definitely…" they communicated in a low tone

"Thank you guys for bringing me here! I feel nothing but nostalgia right now!"

"We're happy that we did!"

"Indeed"

*sigh* "This place brings back so many memories. Well let's go in!"

"You still have the keys to it?"

"It may come as a surprise but yeah. I figured I bring it along with me for it brings back a lot of memories"

"It sure did right now" mentioned Natsu

Once she opened her dorm for the first time in years, she felt very joyful and couldn't hold back her excitement

"OMG and Double OMG! It remained the way it was before! I'm very, very happy right now!" again, she jumped in pleasure

Like before, the two childhood friends are embarrassed by her antics

"She really, really, **really** does feel nostalgic doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but come on Natsu, she hasn't been here for a very, very long time now"

"Yeah, I'll give her that"

"Don't just stand there you two! Feel yourselves at home!"

"My pleasure!" Hinata took off her shoes and jumped on her bed "Ahh! No wonder you're so jolly every day, your room has everything you could ask for!"

"Especially the cool air-conditioning here!" Natsu stretched both her arms up "It's so nice in here! I'm so jealous of you!"

"L. O. L. Come on Natsu knock yourself out!"

"With pleasure!" she joined Hinata on Tiffany's bed "Watch out Hinata!"

"NATSU!" both friends tackle each other playfully. "Hey don't leave me behind!" Tiffany joined in too.

The friendly tackling turned into a pillow fight

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Tiffany struck the first blow and the other two fights at it as well

After several minutes of playing, they become exhausted and just laughed at each other's antics

"Ahh, this is the life…"

"No question; I don't want this to end!"

Tiffany was the first one to get up as the other two continue to indulge themselves on her bed

"Where are you going Tiffany?" Natsu got up too

"Nowhere, I'm just gonna arrange my things in my luggage"

Her question now answered, she noticed that Hinata seemed to have fallen asleep on Tiffany's bed

"Aww, sleeping like a baby"

"Did you say something Natsu?"

"Nothing, just looking at Hinata sleeping on your bed"

"Oh is she?"

"Yup, sleeping like a cute Shiba Inu puppy"

"Yeah that happens a lot sometimes to my friends when they visit here and Hinata's now one of them!"

"Agreed!" their conversation kinda woke her up

"What's going on?"

"You fell asleep"

"I did? Sorry"

"It's fine. Happens to many of my friends as well"

"And now you're one of them!" Natsu added

"He he, I sure am" she got up and stretched her body "At least, I've got some rest though"

Done rearranging her belongings, she tidied herself up

"Hey guys, since I'm in Japan again for the first time in a very long time, let's say we have fun some other time since I'm still tired and groggy from the flight"

"Natsu and I agree on that since us ourselves spent a few nights in the airport waiting for you"

"Whoa, you two really have to do that?"

"Yeah"

"Well, thank you anyways for waiting for my arrival"

"That's what BFFs are for!"

Suddenly, the blonde Pacific student remembered something "Oh I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"Just something, sit tight, I'll go get it" she went back to her luggage, looking for something once more

Natsu & Hinata looked at each other, having no clue on what's on Tiffany's mind

"Here they are!" what she's holding right now in her hand are souvenirs from her country. A pink beret for Hinata and a pair of lovely high heel shoes for Natsu

"SOUVENIRS!"

Her friends are delightfully surprised upon being showed

"Aww, I thought you forgot to give us!"

"But I did! Here you go guys!" she gave it to them

Hinata tried on the American headwear "It fits!" she looked at the mirror "I look so cute with this on! Thanks Tiffany!"

Natsu is gazing at her new pair of formal footwear "Go ahead Natsu, try it on!"

"I will, I will… they're glamorous I'll say" she tried them on made a little test walk "Wow, they feel good to my feet! I love it!"

"I knew you two would love it!"

"We sure did. Did you pick these out wisely and carefully?" Hinata got curious, still wearing the beret

"Absolutely, courtesy of the Hollywood lifestyle magazines I love reading so much!"

"Awesome, I'm going to wear these high heels for the reunion"

"You will? I'm so flattered! Thank you!" she gave her a hug

"You're welcome Tiffany!" then Hinata joined in the fray "Group hug!" she jumped on the two, causing all three of them to trip on the floor and just like in their friendly pillow fight minutes earlier, they laughed at their own antics again

Almost night time and Natsu and Hinata are now back home

Tiffany, in her PJs, decided to check her Facebook. After checking and notifications and answering messages, friend requests/suggestions, requests and invites, she checked the event regarding the reunion and to her disappointment, Roy and his 5 other pals still didn't reply

"_Oh no, he still hasn't replied… Please Roy, please attend"_

**-ONE WEEK BEFORE THE REUNION-**

**-APRIL 18-**

Just woken up from a good night sleep, the Pacific bombshell is having her daily morning workout inside her dorm. Since she hasn't been in this place for a long time now, she feels very nostalgic

"_I really miss this place; the good times will never die"_

Now done working out, she sat down on the floor for a few minutes _"I feel so relaxed right now"_

Her cell phone suddenly rang "Hello?"

"Hey Tiffany, its Hinata, Natsu and I are planning have an outing later, wanna join us?"

"I'd love too! Where will it be?"

"That's a surprise!"

"I love surprises! What time are we gonna leave anyway?"

"Around 12:30, Natsu & I we'll pick you up there in your place"

"OK, I'll be waiting"

"Sure thing, see ya!"

"You too!" conversation ends

"OMG! I'll be having a fun trip with Natsu & Hinata today! It's something I always wanted to do for a long time now! Time to pick out my clothes while it's still early" immediately, she went for closet, picking out what to wear for later

Back in their neighborhood, at Natsu's place, Hinata's staying there to have breakfast with her

"Your cooking's delicious!"

"Thanks Hinata! Don't you have food at your house?"

"I do, but they're not my type anyway"

"Why do you say that?"

"They're just not stomach-friendly to me" *giggles*

"OK. So did you tell Tiffany about our plans for today?"

"I sure did, I can tell that she's more excited about this than the two of us"

"Yup, no surprise there since she's been dreaming to roam around in Japan, and now she has the chance"

"She's never going to forget this day!"

"Indeed. By the way, you didn't tell her where we're going?"

"Nope, I told her it's gonna be a surprise"

"Good, I thought you'd spoil her"

"And I didn't" *giggles*

**-10:35AM-**

Back at her dorm, Tiffany finished taking her shower and is now dressing up to the clothes she selected for the trip later. One of which included is her trademark blue colored headband with a white star on that she wore during her time with Roy and Boman years earlier

Now fully clothed, she lies on her bed to relax while they arrive to pick her up. Looking out the window of her apartment, she fixed her eyes on the ground to ease her mind a bit, most notably about the undeniable fact that Roy and his 5 buddies haven't replied yet to the event

2 hours later, they finally arrived with the taxi waiting for them. They approached near her door step

"How do I look? Fine?" asked Natsu

"You always look fine in whatever you wear" Hinata is already wearing the pink beret Tiffany had for her as a souvenir

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you, and I can say the same to you as well, especially when you're already wearing that beret she got for you just yesterday"

"Thanks" with all that said and done, she knocked on her door

Hearing the knock, she got up and tidied her attire _"Must be them now, they're right in time"_ Bringing along her handbag, she walked near the door

To be sure of herself, she picked through the door hole and it was them "And I was right, and they look good in what they're wearing" *gasps* "She's already wearing the souvenir I got for her! She must've really loved it"

She opened it and is immediately greeted by the two "Hi Tiffany!"

"Looking good, Tiffany!" Natsu complimented

"Hey you guys and I noticed that you're already wearing that beret I got for you!"

"You noticed huh? Can't help it, I've always dreamed of having a beret!"

"I'm happy that I got one for you!"

"Wait a minute, ain't that thing on your head the same one you wore back then?" Natsu noticed

"Whoa, you're right, it definitely is the one"

"I missed wearing this since I've graduated here"

"Feeling nostalgic eh? Us too!"

Their interaction was interrupted by the horn honking by the taxi driver, who's been waiting for long already

"I guess he's losing patience already, let's get a move on" Hinata informed, and they're off

Now inside the taxi, sitting at the backseat, they await their destination

"How far is the place?"

"Not that far, trust me Natsu & I have been there several times before you came along"

"I see. Is the place fun?"

"Very, very fun indeed. Just be patient, we'll be there"  
>"I shall wait then" she just waited<p>

An hour has passed and they're almost near their destination for fun and Tiffany seemed to have dowsed off

"Tiffany, we're here already!" Hinata attempted to wake her up, which she did

*yawn* "What's going on?"

"We're here already" Natsu snapped her fingers to keep her awake

Now awake, she looked around "Is it that one?" she pointed to the right

"Yup that's the one" the surprise is finally revealed, they'll be hanging out at an anime festival

"Is that an anime festival?"

They both nodded in a positive way "Wow! Now I can finally attend this event!" her remark kinda surprised them

"You haven't been to one yet?"

"That's right Natsu! I've seen a lot back home but I never get the chance to attend one until now"

"I see" Hinata had her mouth wide open, quite in disbelief

The taxi finally stopped and they exited the vehicle with Natsu paying the driver.

They now enter the anime festival

"This place is so cool!" then again, it's her first time attending the event

"It's more than cool, it's so freakin' awesome!" Hinata then saw a rack full of anime stuff toys "Wow, they all look so cute!"

Tiffany joined along and also got induced by cuteness overload, much to Natsu's annoyance _"I knew something like this will happen"_ To avoid ending up like them, she moved around to look for anything that suits her taste; she noticed a set of anime figurines. Her favorite type of anime is those of the sports genre

Unlike the other two, she didn't pull out a cutie face and simply gazed and grinned at the detailed design of each figurine

Done looking at the toy section, the three went for the costume section. There, they tried on various outfits

"Oh Tiffany you look so lovely in that kimono!" complimented Hinata

"Arigato Gozaimasu!" she used Nihonggo dialect once again and they are pleased by it again

"Wait there, let me take a picture of you in that!" she pulled out her cell phone and took an image of her

"You look very glamorous!" Natsu complimented

"Arigato Natsu!" she took it off and placed it back where she got it "I wanna have this though"

"You want us to buy it for you?"

"No, no it's fine!" the two agreed on buying it for her "Since you got us souvenirs from the U.S., we figured that Hinata and I give you something back in return"

"It's OK, really I app-" she was cut off by the Taiyo student "Excuse me, how much is the kimono?" she asked the cashier in their native language

"60Y" she pulled out some Yen from her purse and purchased it for her. Now the kimono is in a bag

"Thank you!" she gave the now purchased set of clothes to her "Here you go Tiffany! Enjoy!"

"Ha ha, thank you so much both of you!"

"It's the best we can do!" added Natsu

They continued to be at the event for the whole day until sundown

After hours of having fun, they're now on their to their respective homes and called it a day

Tiffany dropped off the bus in front of her dorm

"Bye you two and thank you again for this kimono"

"Our pleasure, see you again!" the bus left with her waving back at them until they're far away

For the next 5 days, all they did is have fun, hangout and go to many cool places

**-APRIL 24-**

4 days before the reunion.

Early Afternoon

Outside Tiffany's dorm, Natsu and Hinata are playing volleyball while Tiffany watches on, sitting on a bench, enjoying the outdoor scenario, with her laptop, playing one of her favorite Facebook games

"Heads up Hinata!" she tosses the ball to her side

"Got it!" tossing it back

"Impressive moves you got there!"

"Thanks, but you're the pro here!"

"I know!" she made a hard pass "heads up!"

"I got it" but she didn't, she missed "Aww darn it!"

"I win again…"

"Yeah, a lot of times. Lemme tally that up, you 12, me 0"

*chuckles* "You'll be good at volleyball if you practice some more"

"Sure, sure…" They later turned their attention to her, still using her laptop

"Umm Tiffany"

"Yes, what is it Natsu?"

"Wanna play with us?"

"Gee, I'm not into sports much even though I was a cheerleader, but sure, why not?"

"Goodie! You'll team up with me and we'll play against Natsu!"

"Sure, but ain't that a little unfair, don't you think?"

"Its fine, she's more pro in this sport anyway"

"If you say so then" she paused her game and joined in

Teaming up with Hinata, round 2 began, with Natsu serving again

"Watch out!"

"There!" Hinata spiked it back, with Tiffany just standing, having no clue of the sports' basics or rules but is in a prepared stance "Hey, I don't know anything about this sport"

"It's simple, just observe us and you'll get the hang of it" Natsu caught the ball and tosses it back to Hinata

"Watch and learn, Tiff!"

"Umm, sure thing…" she just stood there, observing them

After watching them toss the ball back at each other for long, she's ready "OK, I get it now. Bring it!"

"As you wish!" Natsu spiked the ball towards her.

"Here goes nothing!" she positioned herself, and spiked it with all her might. Much to their surprise, her strike had the ball too high and they readied themselves, not knowing which side it will fall to. Eventually, it's nearing on Natsu's side

"Here it is!" she made her move, but much to her shock, she missed and the ball landed on the ground, thus, marking her first defeat

"Oh my gosh! We won Tiffany!" Hinata gave her a bear hug "Yeah, we sure did!"

"I can't believe it… I lost to a couple of rookies" she pouted, crossing her arms

"Come on Natsu, don't be such a sore loser, it's just a game"

"He he, I know, I'm just caught off guard on how fast that Tiffany learned"

"Me too, call it beginner's luck?" mentioned Hinata

"Perhaps" all three laughed "Anyways, it was a fun game. You impressed us there, Tiffany"

"Agreed. Even I can't do that no matter how many times tried"

"Oh it's nothing!" giving them a friendly grin, she went back to using her laptop. Done playing with her game, she checked her profile if there's any new wall posts

"Just a few days before the fun reunion, I'm getting excited! Don't you Natsu?"

"Sure am, not only I'm getting to see Shoma, Roberto & Nagare again, but also the juniors I always coach"

"Nice, well I get to see Batsu, Kyosuke, Ran, Chairperson and Sakura too!"

"Speaking of them, you think they already made some preparations for it?"

"I believe so; I'll call Sakura to be sure" she took out her cell phone

In Taiyo High School, Sakura, Ran, Chairperson and numerous other students and personnel are organizing and planning the events and other things needed

"Hello? Sakura speaking"

"Hey, it's me"

"Oh Hinata hey! What's up?"

"Not much, how are the preparations for the upcoming reunion?"

"Oh about that, well all is going well" or so she thinks "No, no! I want that over there!" yelled Chairperson

"Is everything OK there? Was that Iicho?"

"Yeah it's her"

"Sakura! How about spending less time making calls and more time helping out?"

"But Iicho, this is Hinata, she's just wondering how everything is going for the reunion"

"Oh, well what did you tell her?"

"I told her that everything's fine" Ran suddenly tripped on a small rock "I'm fine! Ouch, my butt!" she struggled to get back on her feet

"I don't think "Fine" is the right word"

"He he, can't think of any other word, he he"

"May I talk to her?"

"Sure here" she hands over her phone to her "Hinata?"

"Chairperson, long time, no talk! How are the preparations going on?"

"Sakura said fine, but in my case, not so fine"

"What? Why? Did something bad happen?"

"No, it's just now that we're finally organizing the place"

"Oh, but it's still on the 28th of April"

"I know, but there'll be more than just placing chairs and tables"

"Like what?"

"You'll find out this coming Thursday" she heard a ladder fell on top of two people, fortunately they weren't hurt. Another mishap happened "Grrr, I hope that'll be the last…" she mumbled

"Did you say something?"

"Oh no, it's nothing, I just remembered something. Anyways, I, Sakura and Ran have many things to handle right now so see you on Thursday"

"Yeah, see you three!" before the conversation ends "Umm Chairperson, I almost forgot to say something"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Please tell Sakura good luck in hosting the event!"

"_Wow, didn't expect that to come out of her mouth"_ "Of course, I will tell Sakura that!"

"Thanks! I'll talk to her now"

"Sure" she handed back the phone "Hey Hinata"

"Can't wait for this coming Thursday!"

"Me too! See ya there!" suddenly Ran called her "Sakura, help me organize these set of chairs!"

"I'll be there! Sorry Hinata, but I gotta do my part in helping, talk to you next time!"

"Sure thing, bye!"

"Bye also, see you on April 28th!" the conversation ends "Coming Ran!"

"Hey Sakura! Hinata told me to tell you this"

"What is it?"

"She said good luck in hosting"

"Oh, tell her thanks"

"One more thing, you better not mess up!" she threateningly pointed her index finger in front of her

"I won't! That's a promise!" she playfully saluted

"So what did Sakura say?"

"Well, she and Chairperson said they have a lot of things to do & finish before Thursday"

"Oh, but it will continue on right?"

"Of course it will, I don't want it to be cancelled!"

Back to Tiffany

She checked the status of the number of attending people on the reunion, hoping that there'll be some change but there isn't, and the ones on the "Awaiting reply" section are none other than Roy and his 5 pals

Her face has disappointment written all over it "No…" her soft wail was heard

"Did you say something Tiffany?" Hinata noticed

"Nothing, nothing! I just yawned" she tried to cover up the sad feeling on her face by pulling out a grin like before, but to no avail

"What happened to your face?" Natsu noticed the expression on her face

"I'm just tired that's all, I'm off to the bathroom, and I'll just go wash my face!"

She then ran off, leaving her laptop behind

"I think something's bothering her, Natsu"

"I'm with you there, something is really bothering her and I believe it's something she saw or read on Facebook"

"You think?

"Possible, let's check" they both checked her laptop. They searched carefully for it

"I don't see anything here, she's just checking Facebook"  
>"I know, but let's look closely"<p>

Upon looking hard enough, they soon discovered the reason behind their overseas friend's sudden mood change

"Now I see why…" Hinata pointed "look at the names of the 6 people who have yet to reply"

"Yeah, me too, look at the ones on the "Awaiting Reply" list, its Roy and 5 other people"

"Can't argue with that; she's probably upset about the fact that he hasn't replied yet, then again, she has yet to confess her love for him"

"She needs our help, whether she likes it or not" Along with her laptop, they went in her room to talk about their friend's current dilemma. The two sat on her bed and began to think of a plan to cheer her up

"We have to do something about this, Hinata"

"No kidding, Roy is someone she's in love with ever since; I don't blame her for being upset about him not yet replying to the event"

"Exactly, it's just 4 days before the event and she's already like this"

"I know right? We gotta think of something that the two of us can do to cheer her up"

Speak of the devil; Tiffany exited the bathroom, an excuse she used to avoid them finding out of her current problem, which they did earlier

"Crap, I forgot my laptop outside!" heading back to where she was previously "It's not there, so is Natsu and Hinata. They must've took it with them" she reached her room

"_Maybe a little rest on my bed will clear my mind a bit"_ reaching her door, she's about to turn the knob until she heard voices inside

She soon found out that Natsu and Hinata are inside

"Hmm, they're in my room already" listening to their conversation closely, she discovered that they're talking about her current dilemma

"Natsu, I have a question"

"And that is?"

"If you were in Tiffany's shoes, what would you feel?"

"In her situation now? I'd say disappointed I guess"

"Close enough…"

"Boy, we really need to think of a way to get her mind off this problem"

"Natsu! Ain't that a little selfish?"

"You're right, I'm sorry. I give up, I'm out of ideas"  
>"What about singing?"<p>

"Whoa, where'd you get that idea?"

"It's the only way"

"Fine, so how does it go?"

"How did they now about all this?" it dawned to her *gasps* "They must've looked at the guest list on Facebook! I knew I should've logged out"

Shocked and not knowing what to do, Tiffany just stood there, deciding not to enter her room and just listens to their conversation

After some time and giving it much thought, both Hinata and Natsu are on the verge of giving up on the former's plan

"This is harder than I thought"

"So call it quits?"

Hinata didn't answer, she just remained speechless, so does Natsu; both have an almost emotionless expressions on both of their faces. There was silence, until it was shattered when Tiffany slowly opened the door and enters

They eyeballed one another for a moment

"So you knew, am I correct?" she asked them both. Their only respond was a positive nod "I see" she had a long face and joined in sitting with them on her bed

Hinata was the first one to speak "Tiffany"

"Yeah?"

"You really love him right?"

"From the bottom of my heart, yes I really, really love him"

"So did you listen to what Natsu & I were talking about?"

"Yeah"

"What are your thoughts about it?"

"The truth is… I… I can't sing"

"What're you talking about? You can sing. Remember the time when the three of us enjoyed doing karaoke some time ago? Your voice is beautiful"  
>Natsu joined in the conversation "She's not lying you know, your voice is very beautiful indeed" she complimented honestly<p>

"You two really think so?"

"From the bottom of both our hearts"

"Thanks you two, but Roy hasn't replied yet"

"We're aware of that, maybe he will appear even if he didn't reply to it"

"I hope so"

"So will you sing with us on the reunion this Thursday?" Hinata asked her again

She gave it some thought "Alright, I'll do it!"

"You will?"

"You bet, let's do it!" she managed to grin a bit. "Alright Tiffany!" she praised

"That's the spirit Tiffany!" Natsu gave her a friendly pat on the head

"How many songs will we perform?"

"Natsu and I agreed that we'll only perform only 1 song"

"Just one song? That's fine by me"

"Yeah, singing more than one song is time consuming" Natsu agreed

"Alright then; Final question, what song?"

"The song will be "_Lost in Your Eyes_" by _Debbie Gibson_" answered Natsu

"That song? I love that song! That song's like from the '80s"

"I think so too! Every time I hear that song, not only it reminds me of my mom 'coz she plays it every time on the radio, I think about love!" Hinata joined in "Especially in your case, Tiffany!"

"Sure, sure, thanks. When are we gonna start rehearsing?"

"Supposed to be today but I forgot that Natsu and I have some stuff to do today; by tomorrow, we'll be free until before the reunion"

"Alright, thanks again you two"

"You're most certainly welcome!"

From that day forward, they rehearsed their performance over and over until they get it right.

In Tiffany's case, this might be her only chance to see the boy she always had feelings for a very long time already

**-APRIL 27-**

Wednesday, a day left before the reunion.

Hinata & Natsu have been staying at Tiffany's dorm for their rehearsal of their one time only performance tomorrow. They've been doing this for the past couple of days.

Right now, the trio of friends decided to take a break first

"Finally a break! I can rest my throat for now; I'm already running out of saliva!" exclaimed the Gorin volleyball player, sitting on the floor, with her back against the wall

"Same here, Natsu!" the Taiyo student sipped some water from her glass, so did Tiffany, who cleared her throat before doing so

"Are you feeling alright, Tiffany?"

"It's nothing, we did rehearse anyway right? So it's normal for this to happen"

"Yeah, that's true"

"One more thing, did you inform your friend Sakura about this?"

"I sure did; she told this to Chairperson and she approved of it, though not what I expect it to be"

Prior to them rehearsing today, Hinata texted Sakura, informing her about the matter

"_Hey Iicho!"_

"_What is it now Sakura?"_

"_Hinata told me something regarding the event"_

"_Let me hear it"_

"_Hinata requested that she, along with Natsu and Tiffany, will be performing one song in front of everybody tomorrow"_

"_I see, since we have a lot of time tomorrow, sure why not? Anyways, I also heard from Boman that a band will be performing tomorrow as well"_

_Ran joined in "Look at the bright side, at least we now have 2 performances for the reunion, doesn't that sound great?"_

"_I agree Ran, so it's settled, Hinata, and Natsu & Tiffany will have their special number before the band that Boman told me about will perform, agreed?"_

"_YES!" Ran & Sakura said in unison_

"I have to go to the restroom, Tiffany; do you know where it is?"

"Once you're out, on your left, you'll see a blue door, that's the restroom"

"Thanks" she stood up

"Wait up, Natsu, I have to answer nature too" so did Hinata "Tiffany, wanna join us?"

"Its fine, you two go on ahead"

"Alrighty then" both are now out

Now alone for a short time, she checked her Facebook for the final time to see if there's any changes on the guest list. She anxiously waited for the outcome as the page loads. Once again, the numbers remain the same

"_Roy, no…" _she now feels like backing out

While in the restroom, finished answering nature, the two fix their appearance in front of the mirror, discussing what awaits them tomorrow

"Can't wait for tomorrow!" muttered Hinata, unable to hold her excitement

"Me too, we get to see our friends from our respective schools"

"Yeah, but I am a bit nervous for what the three of us will do"

"Look who's talking, since this was your idea, well…"

"I know, I know. Anyways, I hope Tiffany will, well, you know"

"I get your point. She really hope he's coming tomorrow"

"Whether he will or not, we gotta pull this off well"

"I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with you on that last one"

"Yeah, I feel bad for her though"

"Agreed"

Back inside her dorm room, they notice her sitting in front of her laptop with a sad expression on her face

They immediately know why she's like that as Hinata took a peek on her laptop and is unsurprised by what she saw

Even Natsu can sense it as well "Let me guess, he hasn't replied yet?"

"Yeah" Tiffany only responded with a nod "And the big day's tomorrow" closing her photo album

Hinata comforted her "At least you have us" caressing her blonde hair

Natsu remained silent, but her face shows concern too… until she spoke

"Tiffany" both her and Hinata turned to her attention

"No matter what happens, Hinata & I will be there by your side"

"If anything happens?" Tiffany repeated what she said

"Absolutely, you can count on us!" Hinata stayed optimistic

"No matter what it is?" they both nodded. She struggled to stay positive as well "Thanks you guys, I feel a lot better now"

"Much oblige, now shall we rehearse?"

"You bet! Let's do it!" in her typical cheerful self as usual

"At a girl, Tiffany!" praised Natsu. With that, they rehearsed for tomorrow's once in a lifetime 5-school reunion


	5. Surprises

**-APRIL 28-**

The day everyone's excited about has arrived. This one time only social gathering has everyone excited since its announcement by Chairperson nearly a month ago; at the school grounds of Taiyo High, the main hosting school, several students from the school, meet each other, knowing that it's been a very long time already since they've seen each other at school; friends see each other again, yes, smiles are felt by everyone now.

Among the Taiyo alumni are Hinata's friends Batsu, Kyosuke & two of the three planners Ran & Iicho a.k.a. Chairperson

"Fun day isn't it, Batsu?" says the cool headed Kyosuke, adjusting his glasses

"It is, I miss seeing everyone here!"

"You can say that again, I'm getting Goosebumps already"

"Same here Kyos-" a sudden flash came by, courtesy of you-know-who

"Ouch! My eyes!" he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes "Ran!" In contrast, the calm headed Kyosuke didn't even flinch by the bright shutter

"OMG, look at your face here Batsu!" *giggles* "This is so going on Facebook!"

"You wouldn't dare!" the hot blooded Taiyo student threatened her

"Oh I would!" she is unfazed by his threat "What are you gonna do? Cry to your mama?" she teased him

Caught off guard by her last remark, he gave up "Oh never mind, go ahead" She snickered _"Booyah!"_

"Besides, I need to take a joke once in a while nowadays" he lightened up a bit

"Good for you, Batsu" added Kyosuke

"Wow, I'm glad to see you three by now" Chairperson came passing by, in her trademark red tracksuit

"Hey Iicho!" Ran was the first one to notice her "You're early today and I see that you're still wearing your favorite tracksuit"

"Why wouldn't I wear it? I feel comfy whenever wear it with me" she tidied it up

"Sorry to butt in but have you seen Hinata around here?"

"Oh yeah Kyosuke, I haven't seen her today. It's unusual for her to be late for today" added Batsu

"Oh about her, if I remember correctly I heard that she along with Natsu & Tiffany will perform a special number today"

"Really? Cool. Then again, all of us often hear her sing almost every day"

"I look forward to see her on stage"

"Same here Kyosuke"

"FYI that is one of two performances for today" added Ran, surprising the two

"Get outta here! There's gonna be another performance after Hinata's?"

"You heard right Batsu, after her performance with Natsu & Tiffany, a band will perform after"

"A band you say? Who are they?"

Iicho answered "Well according to Boman, they're a 6-member group and he's friends with all of them, especially the front man, that's all I can say for now."

By this time around, many students from their respective schools have already gathered together by the school grounds; meet and greet sessions are going on everywhere

"I guess everyone's here now"

"I don't think so…" contradicted the Taiyo journalist-to-be

"What do you mean? Who are we missing?"

"Ahem, **the Host**!"

"Holy crap, you're right! Sakura's not even yet here yet!"

"I told you!"

"Wait a minute Ran, what about Sakura?" asks the hot blooded Taiyo student

"She's the host for this event" answered the now irate Iicho "…and she's nowhere to be seen, some host she makes!"

"But her school isn't invited to this event" added the calm as usual Kyosuke

"She volunteered to be the host where she hesitantly accepted"

"I see, do you think she'll make a good host?"

_*chuckles*_ "I barely think she can" _*chuckles*_

"Oh Sakura, why did I even made you the host for this? You're not even punctual, even for today!" muttered Chairperson

At a nearly empty parking lot by the entrance, Gedo alumni hung out there, doing their usual juvenile stuff like littering and among others. Two of the school's most notorious students, Edge & Gan are busy spray painting some unfortunate person's car

"Ha ha, that looks good Edge!" the blonde haired rebel spray painted a somewhat crude drawing on the hood

"Thanks Gan; the owner of this will be SO pissed when he/she returns only to find out what I did to the hood" _*snickers*_

"Lemme give it one final touch!" the big Gedo juvenile added some "detail" on Edge's graffiti

"Wow, you made it look cooler! Nice one Gan!" the two had a hi-5

"Whatcha guys doing?" a voice called from behind, shocking them both

"GAH!" they exclaimed in unison; when they slowly turned around, they were surprised and at the same time relieved to find out it's their buddy Akira from Seijyun, who used to study with them under the guise of a boy.

"Hey Akira! What a surprise!"

"Long time, no see Akira!"

"Yeah long time no see to both of you as well!" not for long, her 2 friends from Seijyun, Zaki & Yurika, came passing by too

"Oh hey guys! I'm surprised that you followed me here"

"Why not? We wanna know your buddies a bit better" explained the masked Seijyun alumnus. Yukari agreed with her, responding only with a nod

"Umm Yukari, is everything going good for you lately?"

"Indeed it is"

"No disrespect but what happen to your brother?"

"Kurow is now serving a sentence of 15 years for his destructive behavior"

"Sorry to hear that" speaking of brothers, someone Akira knows very well surprised her

"Surprised to see you here" it's none other than Daigo

"Onii-chan!" she greeted him with a hug

"Hi Akira, how's my sister doing?"

"Being a good girl as always!"

"And I see that your friends from Seijyun are here as well" he waved Hi to them, they waved back at him

"Edge, Gan, how are you 2 doing?"

"Doing good Boss!"

"Same here!"

Random Gorin alumni are meeting up near the basketball court. Natsu's 3 friends Shoma, Roberto & Nagare are seen having a conversation by the bench

"Some event this is, Ain't it guys?" the football player told the other two

"It is Roberto, it truly is once in a lifetime, and I'm so relaxed right now"

"Say, have any of you seen Natsu anywhere?"

"I heard that she has a special part in today's event" answered Shoma

"According to her, she'll be performing on stage with her friend Hinata and another friend of theirs from Pacific" Roberto added

"Really? Can't wait to see their performance" The other two agreed with him

Lastly, Pacific alumni gathered together near a certain area by the school, the gates

Boman is busy hanging out with his fellow schoolmates

"Hey Boman, happy to see you're here!" one of his other buddies greeted him

"Oh hey there, it's been a while" they gave one another a hi-5

"So how's the training-to-be-a-preacher biz for you lately?"

"Honestly speaking, it's been very good lately"

"Cool, good to hear that; I wish you luck for some more of it"

"Thank you, I appreciate your support"

"Anytime dude; say, have you seen Roy & Tiffany anywhere?" his question donned to the young preacher-in-training, who seems to know both of their whereabouts

"Roy & Tiffany? About them, I'm sure they'll be here anytime soon" he stayed optimistic

"Alright if you say so" the random Pacific alumnus then went back to with the others

"_Where are those two? I already sent both of them invitations over a month ago; I hope they'll be-"_

"Boman! Long time no see!" a familiar voice cut him off

To his delight, it's his bubbly-headed female pal "Tiffany! How long has it been since we've since each other last time?"

"I know right?" they approached one another "How's life for you here in the land of the rising sun?"

"Peaceful, simple and great, I've been really enjoying my stay here; how's everything going for you lately?"

"Like yours, it's simple and a little bit delicate, I guess"

"Good to know, and I thought you'd never come"

"Are you kidding me? When I found out about this, I jumped with excitement because not only I get to go back here, I also get to see you and many others again!"

"Who wouldn't?" both laughed

Back with the Gorin gang… while the 3 chill their butts off when a familiar voice called them

"Hey guys" turning around, all 3 guys are surprised to see what she's wearing "Nat…su…" all three said in unison, unable to find the right word to describe her attire

"Sorry I was late, had a hard time picking the clothes to wear for today; so what do guys think?" she struck a seductive pose

"Whoa Natsu…" The soccer player couldn't say anything else, so does the hot tempered baseball player, who has his mouth open. In contrast, Nagare's able to compliment her

"You look very lovely"

"Why thanks Nagare, I appreciate it. I'm not surprised that Shoma & Roberto are at awe with my fashion taste!"

Meanwhile, back with the Taiyo alumni

As many random alumni spend time together, the main 4 are still waiting for Hinata to come, not to mention the host Sakura to arrive when…

"Boo!" someone surprised Chairperson from behind; once she turns around, it was one of their own, one of the three girls that will perform later

"Looking for me? I'm here!" she exclaimed with a high tone

"Hinata, finally you're here! What took you so long?"

"Sorry for being late Iicho, I just had to do something"

"Sure you do, sure you do. Mind if I ask you something?"

"I'm all ears!"

"Where. The. Hell. Is. Sakura?"

"Oh Sakura, well you see the thing is… how can I put this…?" as she thinks of what to say, Chairperson is growing impatient

"Make it quick please; you are aware that she's the host for this event! Not to mention almost everyone from their respective schools are here already!"

"Calm down Iicho, calm down…" Ran tried to ease her cool

"Ah I got it, here it goes… You see-" before she can start explaining

"Sorry I'm late guys!" in comes the host, running as fast as she can to the group "The host for this once in a lifetime event is finally-" only for her to trip on the ground "-here!" she continued her phrase with the final word amidst her almost reddish face

"Sakura! Why are you late? You are the host right! Hosts aren't supposed to be late for special events" Hinata scolds her, but in a friendly manner unlike Iicho's way

"I know Hinata, again I'm sorry! I have to run a last-minute errand of some sort"

"Never mind that now, everyone from all the selected schools are here and I think they're running out of patience" Ironically, that's not the case since everyone is having fun meeting each other again

"Growing impatient you say? Look around you" the journalist-to-be joined in "As you see, they don't seem to mind however since they're chilling their butts off for now until this whole thing starts"

"I'm with you there Ran!" says the so-called host

Several minutes of waiting has finally paid off as the host ran to the stage; everyone cheered as the event they've waited for a weeks will finally begin

"Hey, Hinata…"

"Yeah Ran?"

"Forgot to tell you this but, you look cute in your attire"

"Really? Thanks Ran"

"I agree with her, you look quite the lady you are for your performance later"

"Thanks Batsu! That's so kind of you"

"It's rare for Batsu to be like this; don't you think so, Ran?"

"I agree a 100% Kyosuke!" she gave him a thumbs up; Batsu just gave them both an awkward look while Hinata just chuckled at the situation

With Sakura now in the picture, she took the mic and addressed the audience…

"Good afternoon everybody and welcome to the annual Alumni Homecoming!" the audience grew even wilder

"Wow, look at all of you out here right now, what a great day isn't it? Especially when seeing all of your friends around again right?" they responded positively

Returning to the Pacific batch, Tiffany is rehearsing behind the balcony of the school's main building

*sigh* "I can do this, I can do this…" she muttered to herself; before continuing, she looked around her fellow batch mates and to her disappointment, he nor his 5 pals aren't there; disappointed, she let out a sigh when Boman approached her _"He's not yet here…"_

"Tiffany…"

"Oh Boman…"

"I heard your voice" she blushed "You, you did?"

"Yes, and it was amazing"

"You think so?"

"I'm not lying, it's beautiful, and your voice is lovely"

"Gee, thank you Boman"

"Anytime, so do you think you're ready moments from now?"

"I think so…"

"You can do it, I'm sure you can…"

"I know I can, thanks for the support"

"You're welcome…"

"I think I should go with them to prepare right now"

"You should…"

"Gotta go now, see you Boman"

"Godspeed Tiffany, good luck with your performance"

"Thanks…" she runs off

Ran begins taking pictures of her "She makes a pretty good host, don't you agree?"

"For a klutz, yeah, she quite pulled it off I can say" responded Kyosuke

"She might even qualify for hosting a live event, like that's even possible" added Batsu

"So true, Batsu, so true" agrees Iicho, who's still in doubt, continues to observe her every move

While her friends watch, Hinata prepares herself by breathing in and drinking water to ease her anxiety when Natsu came by her side

"Hinata…"

"Natsu, you're just in time"

"So, prepared?"

"Yeah, I think so… Where's Tiffany?"

"Either she's still rehearsing or on her way…"

"Makes sense…" actually, she is on her way right now

"Hey guys…"

"TIFFANY" they both said in unison "Right timing…"

"Thanks Natsu"

"Ready to put our hard work to the test on the stage?" the volleyball player asked her

"Think so, yeah I'm ready…" she smiled

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure, Hinata"

"Now, let's start this event with a special number from 3 lovely ladies from 3 schools; one from Taiyo, one from Gorin and one from Pacific!" she awaits their arrival; next to Sakura are 3 microphone stands at the center of the stage

"Alright, let's wish ourselves good luck as we step on that stage right there" Natsu urged some confidence within themselves

"We can do this!" Hinata exclaimed

"Failure's not an option!" Tiffany added

"OK here we go…" with enough determination within them, they head to the stage

Sakura, seeing them on their way to the stage, give the 3 a round of applause, showing her support and wishing them luck…

Once they set foot on the stage, the crowd already began cheering for them

"Go Natsu! We're by your side!" cheered Shoma

"You can do it!" so does Roberto; Nagare just whistled and pumped his right fist on the air; their other schoolmates continue obviously followed suit, especially the males once they saw Natsu in a very seductive attire

"NATSU YOU LOOK HOT!" one cheered, which received positive reception from the other males in the form of whistling

She replied by waving to them and giving them a flying kiss; the juniors she trained and coached with even showed their support for their senior

"NATSU! NATSU!" NATSU!" NATSU!" they chanted her name repeatedly

Hinata also received the same treatment from her schoolmates; then again, it's her school that's the main host for the entire event. Walking on the stage in her dazzling yet cute outfit, she also did what her friend Natsu done to her batch, posing and other playful gestures

Lastly, the blond cheerleader from Pacific, setting foot on stage got the most cheers and support out of the three; the attention she's been receiving surprised her; she waved to her schoolmates and even gave them a flying kiss, not once but twice; aware that Roy isn't in the picture, she successfully hid what she really feels

Seeing her receiving that much attention, the other 2 are astounded by the scene "Seems to me she's not fazed by the fact that Roy isn't here…"

"I agree Hinata, like she's in control of how she truly feels" the 2 childhood friends exchanged whispers

Done acknowledging her school, she joined her pals at the center of the stage

"Good luck you three!" the host gave them a thumbs up, leaving the stage and about to start the music

"Sorry you 2, guess I got carried away there…"

"No it's alright; Natsu & I liked the reception you've been getting!"

"He-he thanks Hinata"

"So, ready to get this show on the road?"

"Let's do this!" now ready, they prepare themselves, waiting for the music to start

Behind them, Sakura checks the sound system

"Where is that thing?"She searches for the play button, until she found it

"Oh here it is, and activate music!" she pressed it

"There's our queue!" Hinata muttered, making her & the other 2 prepare

"Here we go…"

The soothing music makes the atmosphere more relaxing as the audience of teens watch the performance of the three

Hinata starts it off, singing the 1st stanza

_I get lost, in your eyes _

_And I feel my spirits rise _

_And soar like the wind _

_Is it love that I am in? _

_I get weak in a glance _

_Isn't this what's called romance? _

_And that's what I know _

_Cause when I'm lost _

_I can't let go_

By the chorus, all 3 sang it

_(Chorus) _

_I don't mind _

_Not knowing what I'm headed for _

_You can take me to the skies _

_It's like being lost in heaven _

_When (and) I'm lost in your eyes_

Natsu continued with the 2nd stanza

_I just felt _

_Don't know why _

_Something is there _

_We can't deny _

_Ooh, when I first knew _

_Was when I first looked at you _

Tiffany did the 3rd stanza

_And if I _

_Can't find my way _

_If salvation _

_Seems miles away _

_Oh, I'll be found _

_When I'm lost in your eyes_

Again the 3 did the chorus

_(Repeat Chorus)_

At the last stanza, Tiffany finished it

_I get weak in a glance _

_Isn't this what's called romance _

_Oh, I'll be found _

_When I am lost _

_In your eyes._

Finished with their performance, they received a round of applause and just like before, when they stepped on the stage, they received cheers and a lotta yelling, especially from the males obviously. Done bowing to the crowd, they stepped off the stage.

"That was an awesome performance you did there" Chairperson hailed

"Thanks Iicho!"

"You got a cool voice, Hinata!"

"You really think so, Batsu?"

"I sure do" Kyosuke agrees with him

"Thanks!"

"You guys were awesome!" the klutzy host gave the three a thumbs up

"Thanks Sakura, appreciate it!" thanked Natsu

While the 3 friends regain their composure, they, along with the others near them, suddenly hear even louder cheers from Tiffany's batch, mostly from the girls obviously

When the 3 go on to take a closer look, they discovered that Roy & his 5 buddies have finally arrived at the homecoming

"Hey whassup, dude!" one of the guys greeted

"Doing fine, man!" the newly arrived Roy replied "Sorry we're late, traffic on the way!" he apologized

"It's OK, the fun just got better since you arrived here!" one of his fan girls said

"Is that so? Well, we arrived in the nick of time!" one of his band mates muttered

"Would you look at that, Roy & some of his pals arrived…" Natsu muttered

"Yeah, and I thought they wouldn't" Hinata followed "Look Tiffany, Roy's finally here-" she was cut off to see her continuously gazing at him like she's in a trance or something

"Tiffany? Tiffany?" she tried to get her attention but to no avail

Natsu waved her hand in front of her face but that didn't work either

Seeing him and his 5 pals right now made Tiffany surprised & speechless

Continuing to gaze at him as he approaches near them, she grasps her fists together in front of her chest to ease herself

When he gets closer & closer to her direction, he gazed at her eye to eye; surprised by what he did, she just gazed at the pavement out of shyness & embarrassment, her sudden move just made him smile

"_He's here, I thought he'd never come but I was wrong, he's here right now…"_


	6. Surprises  II

Having surprised everyone in the Pacific alumni, not to mention her, Roy and his pals are on their way to the stage but before doing so, they decided to take a break first from there long trip going to where they are now

Tiffany, still in a little shock by seeing him again in a long time, is still speechless and just looks at the ground to clear her mind

"Tiffany? Tiffany? You alright?" Boman tried to get her attention, which he did

"Yeah I'm feeling a bit alright" she snapped out of it

"I hope she's fine after seeing him again for a long time" added Hinata

"You said it; she's been thinking about him lately, something that I find unsurprising" Natsu followed suit

"It's quite understandable that she really misses him" he told both

While the three are focused on their concerned friend, some Taiyo alumni are setting up the stage with some musical instruments; the sudden commotion is making everyone curious

"What, another performance?" Kyosuke took notice

"Looks like it; I remember hearing from Ran and Chairperson that a band will be performing next and all 6 members are from Pacific and they're friends with Boman and Tiffany" Batsu answered his question

"I see; this'll be fun to watch"

"Hmm, this looks interesting" The Gorin swimmer noticed "There's gonna be another musical performance"

"Agreed, maybe a famous rock band will be performing" Roberto guessed

"That's a possibility" agreed Shoma

"I wonder what song they're gonna play for us?" Gan scratched his head

"Beats me, I hope it's gonna be something cool and not something incredibly boring" Edge pointed out his own guess

After a not so nice lecture with Chairperson, Sakura resumes her duties as host and went up stage again

"Brilliant performance you three, let's give a round of applause for them again, shall we?" everyone applauded to them  
>She took out the event cards from her pocket "Alright then, next in line is, what is it again?" she's starting to forget what will be the next event<p>

"One moment, folks!" she desperately searches through the cards and in the process, accidentally drops the pile, scattering all the cards on the floor; the mishap made everyone laugh again like her previous mistake. Unfortunately, the only person not impressed and laughing is none other than Chairperson

"SAKURA!" crossing her arms and having fire behind her eyes, she screamed her lungs out despite her fellow schoolmates are laughing too

Sakura just laughed it out, attempting to get all the cards from the floor "Sorry Iicho!" *giggles*

"The atmosphere kinda got the best of me!" she tried playing it nicely, but with barely any success

"He he he, I guess I paid too much attention to myself"

"Hmpf, like you always do!" she turned her head to a different direction to show her disappointment

& disapproval of her actions

*giggles* "Oh boy, am I such a klutz or what?" *sigh* she muttered under her breath; soon, she gathered all the cards, rearranged them again and went back to her business; it seems that she isn't fazed by her second mishap nor is she bothered by a bruised ego

"Sorry about that folks, I got carried away there" she tidies herself up, patting her clothes neatly

"Alright back to business, the next event will be" she turns the card to the next one and fortunately for her, it's the one that features the next event

"Wow, would you look at that? There's gonna be another musical performance that will take place moments from now!" as usual they cheered and got excited about it

"In a few minutes, they'll set foot on stage and perform in front of you all" with that, she got off the stage to check if everything is set and hope there'll be no room for error

"I knew it, a band will be performing" the Gorin soccer player is pleased

"This I gotta see!" so does the hot headed baseball player

"You gave us quite the scare Tiffany"

"I know, sorry about that Boman, I guess I kinda got carried away when I saw him again"

After having Tiffany drinking a glass of water and letting her rest on a chair to cool her off,

"Umm Boman…" Natsu called out

"Yes what is it?"

"I heard from Ran that there'll be a band performing right after our performance right?"

"Absolutely"

"And that you're good friends will 6 of them, especially the front man"

"You got that right"

Hinata joined in "Mind if you tell us who they are?"

"Alright I'll tell you; these good friends of mine are known as "HTMLL""

The unusual band name made both of them wonders "HTMLL?" they said in unison

"It's short for "How To Meet Lovely Ladies""

"OHHH" again, in unison

"That sounds, well, unique I suppose" complimented the Taiyo student

"Yeah, a very, very different kind of band name"

"Indeed it is and the front man is none other than Roy Bromwell himself" the identity of the front man surprised them both

"What? No way!" Hinata couldn't believe her ears

"You sure?" same can be said to Natsu

"I'm positive and he's the one who founded it as well"

Back to Sakura, checking everything to make sure everything will go smooth for HTMLL's performance

"Sound system, speakers, everything looks set and ready for action" next, she checked on Roy and the others

"Hey there guys!"

"Hey!" "Yo!" "What's up?" three of them replied

"You guys all set for your gig?"

"We are, just give us a few more minutes to rest" one said

"OK, but did you guys rehearsed already?"

"We sure did" Roy answered "In fact we'll be performing 4 songs for this homecoming FYI"

"Oh wow, that sounds great"

"Great it is and btw, when the 4th song comes, there'll be a surprise waiting to happen" his band mates echoed his statement and cheered

"Cool, even better! This sounds exciting to watch"

"It will be…"

Tiffany, now feeling better, is sitting next to Boman along with their other fellow alumnus

"I'm very sorry about what happened to me earlier"

"It's OK, don't worry about it, your friends & I understand how you feel right now"

"Thanks for understanding Boman, you're a true friend"

Minutes after Sakura made the exciting announcement of HTMLL performing, the crowd, especially the girls from the Pacific alumni, are getting impatient and excited on when they'll perform; they start to grow wild due to the delay

"Hey, when are they gonna perform on stage?" one yelled

"Yeah, we wanna see Roy!" another girl yelled

"I wanna hear his hot voice!" while another followed suit

Later, almost all of the girls, with the exception of Tiffany of course, start yelling "WE WANT ROY! WE WANT ROY! WE WANT ROY! WE WANT ROY!" all over and over again whiles some of the boys end each of it with "NOW!"

The other schools were getting a bit annoyed and irritated by the growing antics of their American counterparts

"Seems like they have a lot of fans…" mentioned the hyperactive journalist from Taiyo "This is a moment that's too good to miss!" and as usual, captures the moments

"Yeah and I can see why" Chairperson followed suit "What we usually see at concerts" she added

"Now we know that Roy is the heartthrob of his school, Natsu"

"Yup, his charisma really makes all of his female schoolmates go gaga for him, Hinata"

"What's all that racket all about?" wonders the host, upon peeking, she soon discovers why

"Oh crap, everyone from Pacific is getting impatient!"

The impatient crowd alarmed Sakura, who just finished using the restroom and informs the band, who is almost ready to perform, about the situation

"Yo guys! Your entire school is already growing impatient; they want to see you all in stage right now!"

"Really? They're excited to see us perform on stage right now?" Roy wants to be sure

"Well duh! Just listen to that crowd!" she pointed to them where the cheering is coming from

**G:** "WE WANT ROY!"

**B:** "NOW!"

**G:** "WE WANT ROY!"

**B:** "NOW!"

**G:** "WE WANT ROY!"

**B:** "NOW!"

**G:** "WE WANT ROY!"

**B:** "NOW!"

Their cheers are obviously music to their ears, knowing that they're gonna pull off a cool performance just for them

"Whoa, you're not kidding there! They wanna hear us at this moment dude!" one of his band mates is already excited

"I hear them alright, and I gotta feeling that if we don't do what we're gonna do today, there'll be an ugly riot ha-ha!" says another, who's already pumped up

"Well what are you guys waiting for? Go out there and perform now!"

"You bet we will! Come on guys let's please the crowd out there and give them something that we rehearsed for!" Roy told his band mates, which all of them replied with "YEAHHHHHH!"

"Finally! Good luck on your performance guys! I, I mean, everyone is looking forward to it!" she heads off to the stage to inform everyone

"Everyone, wait no more, HTMLL are now on their way!" everyone cheered, especially the ones from Pacific, who are already _**too**_overexcited to wait; finished making the announcement, she got off the stage and returned with Hinata and the gang

"Ooh boy, can't wait to see this!" she told herself

"So does Natsu & I, I expect this to be a good one"

"They'll be performing 4 songs"

"Wow, cool even more worth watching"

Roy and his buddies performed a football like fad putting their hands together and raising them up simultaneously to boost their confidence and ease their anxiety on stage "Alright boys, on three, two, and one, HTMLL!"

Now, all 6 ready themselves for their concert; 4 of them, including Roy, have their guitars with them while the other two, the keyboardist and drummer, have their respective instruments already set on the stage by some Taiyo students moments earlier

"_Yeah we'll have a blast performing for them, but as I promised, there will be a surprise waiting to happen and that is for someone who I had my mind set on for a long time" _thought the American football player turned rock star, heading up with his pals on the stage

The first ones to step on stage are the keyboardist and drummer, followed immediately by the bassist and 2 guitarists; their presence is already greeted and applauded by everyone

"YOU GUYS RULE!" some from their alumni cheered, pumping their fists in the air

"Goodie, I hope this'll look promising" The big Gedo student said

"We'll find out soon Gan" Edge followed suit

The last member to set his foot on stage is, unsurprisingly, Roy himself who is then greeted by his many, many, many fan girls; some got off their seats just to show off or rather make their presence felt in front of him

"I LOVE YOU ROY!" one yelled

"WE'RE HERE FOR YOU!" so does another; one girl even gave him a flying kiss, which he "grabbed" with his left hand to show his appreciation

"THAT'S FOR YOU ROY!" she told him

And like moments earlier, they went on to chant his name, only with the first 2 words cut "ROY! ROY! ROY!" Like any other typical fan girl, they pulled out their cameras and cell phone cams to capture the moment

The guys also showed their support for their long time friend

"YOU CAN DO IT DUDE!"

"SING YOUR HEART OUT, PAL!"

Some girls cheered, but not the fanatic type since some of them already have boyfriends. One particular girl who isn't going nuts like her school mates is Tiffany, managing to pull off a faint and almost innocent looking smile at what's going on right now on stage

"I see that you managed to cheer up after what happened minutes earlier" noticed the young preacher-in-training

"Yeah, hey I gotta enjoy myself and be happy you know?"

"You should…" *chuckles*

After waving to the crowd for some moments, they head to their respective positions with Roy taking the microphone and preparing his guitar, ready to please the crowd

"What's up everybody?" he started with a very common and casual greeting, which everyone responded with the typical cheering and a few yelling, especially from his batch where they did it even louder

"We are HTMLL, which stands for "How To Meet Lovely Ladies"" his explanation behind their group's name wooed all the girls from their respective batches

"Cool name right?" he jokingly asked the crowd; some chuckled at his remark

"Alright then, today we're gonna perform for you 4 great songs that me and the guys enjoy listening to and covering with" the reception they're getting was positive, just how they like it

"We'll start off with a song that goes from soft to hard by the end" they begin playing their first song, with Roy starting off with an acoustic tune to his guitar; the tune is immediately recognized by several people among the crowd and immediately cheered on

The song they're playing is _"Your Guardian Angel" _by _The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus_

"Oh my gosh, I love this song so much!" someone from his batch mentioned

"Same here, I listen to this whenever I feel down"

The whole crowd gave them a round of applause once they start performing it

_When I see your smile_

_Tears run down my face I can't replace_

When he sang the 1st two lines, not only several of the girls from his school had an earful of his voice, so do the other girls from the other schools!

Some from Taiyo & Gorin start sighing and wooing over his voice

The girls from his batch start going nuts; some almost start pulling their hair

"Oh yeah, now that's what I love to see!" muttered Ran, immediately taking snapshots of the girls and their antics

"Aren't they a bit overreacting? It's seems like Roy and his buddies are having the same treatment as The Beatles when they first arrived in their country back in 1964" added Chairperson; ironically, HTMLL were influenced by the music of The Fab 4

_And now that I'm stronger I've figured out_

_How this world turns cold and breaks through my soul_

_And I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one_

Finish with the first stanza he continues to sing the rest of it

"Well, this started well" Sakura noticed

"I know right? Everything's going smoothly, I'm enjoying his performance" added Hinata

"Who would've thought that our female school mates would go nuts for this guy?"

"I know Natsu, I mean look at them" they both glanced at their respective school mates and had an awkward look on both of their faces

_Cuz you're my, you're my, my true love, my whole heart_

_Please don't throw that away_

_Cuz I'm here for you_

_Please don't walk away,_

_Please tell me you'll stay, woah stay woah_

As he stated, it's a song that goes soft at the beginning and hard near the end, and they pumped up their guitar skills; their stage presence ignited and awakened the crowd, making them cheer louder while the Pacific girls go absolutely nuts

"Roy has an excellent singing voice, don't you agree Tiffany?"

"I do Boman; he's a very talented person aside from being a strong football player"

"Indeed he is"

4 minutes and 30 seconds passed and they're done with their first song; they received another round of applause, and as usual their batch is gone bananas; the females of course, mostly from their batch screamed in adoration of them

"WE LOVE YOU ROY!" several girls from his batch yelled

"YOUR VOICE IS SO AROUSING!" that remark made his face blush

"Yo Roy, you heard what she said?" his drummer pal asked him

"I sure did, ha-ha"

"YOU'RE THE MAN ROY!" his pals yelled

"THAT'S OUR BUDDY RIGHT THERE!"

"Thank you, thank you!" he told everyone "Did you all enjoy it that?"

"YEAH!" was their response

"I'm glad you all enjoyed that; that was song #1 and now, song #2!" they cheered again and wait for the next mystery song

The keyboardist starts off the song this time

_Sometimes I wonder _

_How I'd ever make it through_

Like its predecessor, it made all the girls go wild; the girls from Taiyo and Gorin joined up with their Pacific counterparts in yelling and cheering

Song #2 is _"When I See You Smile"_ by _Bad English_

_Through this world without having you _

_I just wouldn't have a clue_

By the time the 2nd stanza near, several girls from the 3 schools got up from their seats and approached the crowd to try and get close to him and his guitar wielding pals

"What in the world? Ha-ha" Chairperson muttered in disbelief "They're really into this performance of theirs"

"Ha-ha, even better for more awesome snapshots!" Ran took more snapshots of the ruckus being created

Natsu & Hinata looked on, unable to believe their eyes "Yikes, my fellow school mates really love them…" says the latter

"So do mine, they better be careful or else they'll get hurt" added the former

The ongoing ruckus is getting some mixed feedback from their respective school mates

"How come that never happens to me?" Batsu asked himself

"Oh get real, that's never gonna happen to you! Ha-ha"

"What was that Kyosuke?"

"See, that's one obvious reason girls won't treat you the way those Pacific guys are being treated right now"

"You're right; I got carried away there for a while"

"You always do in class… that you can't deny"

"Alright, I get the point"

"He-he, cheer up Batsu, I'm sure you'll meet a girl someday" he gave him some encouraging words

"I'm sure I will"

"Man, our female school mates really adore those Pacific dudes" muttered Shoma

"Can't deny that, I'm wondering why Natsu isn't in the crowd" asks Roberto

"There are 2 possible answers to that question: it's either she doesn't want to be in an uncomfortable position like them or she likes to watch them at a distance"

"What the hell? It's like they're a boy band or something" groaned Gan

"I know how you feel buddy, but hey at least it's better than crappy pop groups" Edge added

"Yeah, that's for sure"

Roy, the 2 bassists and guitarists are being adored by their new fans and they approach the chorus of the song

_When I see you smile _

_I can face the world, oh oh, _

_you know I can do anything _

_When I see you smile _

_I see a ray of light, oh oh, _

_I see it shining right through the rain _

_When I see you smile _

_Oh yeah, baby when I see you smile at me _

The chorus almost made several girls squeal and screech, much to the annoyance of their male school mates. This situation however is attracting some unwanted attention, especially from the blonde cheerleader, who does obviously not like what she sees right now and just turn her attention to the sky

Boman notices her despair but decided not to take action since he understands how she feels and thinks giving her some alone time will ease her jealousy

_Baby there's nothing in this world _

_that could ever do _

_What a touch of your hand can do _

_It's like nothing that I ever knew_

He, the other guitarist and 2 bassists kneel down, still playing their guitars, just to be touched, adored by and get their pictures taken by their fans

After 4 minutes and 22 seconds, HTMLL concluded their performance and the girls are literally gone bananas for them

"Wow, you really love that song huh girls?"

"WE SURE DO!" a random girl from Taiyo replied, surprising Hinata, who isn't expecting like that to happen

"Whoa, she's an obsessed fan already?" she muttered

"Of course you do, who wouldn't? Hypocrites?" the crowd laughed

"He-he, just kidding; Alright, song #3 coming right up"

The keyboardist starts it off again, combined with some string plucks from one of the guitarists

Song #3 is _"When I See You Smile"_ by _Bad English_

_I see forever when I look in your eyes _

_You're all I ever wanted; I always want you to be mine _

_Let's make a promise 'till the end of time _

_We'll always be together, and our love will never die _

In contrast to the 1st two songs they performed, the girls seemed to be exhausted from all their yelling and screeching; then again, the song has a slow feel to it. Instead, they just raised their arms and swayed from left to right, much to the delight of those nearby who can't stand their loud and useless screaming

"What a relief, I can finally listen to the song in peace" muttered Chairperson

By the time he got to the chorus, they did it a bit slower

_When I look into your eyes _

_I can see how much I love you _

_And it makes me realize _

_When I look into your eyes _

_I see all my dreams come true _

_When I look into your eyes_

Almost reaching 3 minutes to the song, some of his Pacific buddies jokingly lit a lighter as if they're in a full-packed arena

The ongoing situation is too much for Tiffany to see and her jealousy got the best of her; instead of sulking and loathing, she had her head down, looking at the pavement, depressed; Boman noticed her upset feeling and begins to worry about her

Far ahead, Hinata and Natsu are enjoying the song until the former noticed her friend being upset and alarms the latter about it

"Natsu"

"What is it Hinata?"

"I feel bad for Tiffany"

"Really? Why is that?"

"Look at her" they both observed her current situation and, just like Boman, also start to worry

"Whoa, you're right; I guess it's thanks to our school mates, including hers, that keep on adoring him that's why"

"You're right and it's quite obvious that's making her feel this way, not to mention feel absolute jealousy as well"

"Yeah, well said there Hinata"

With that, they concluded the 3rd song on their set list; their fan girls, unable to yell or scream like what they did 2 songs earlier, just clapped their hands and whistled

"Thank you!" he greeted "I wish you'll put this song into your iTunes playlist, he-he" while communicating with the crowd, his eye caught the attention of Tiffany in a depressed state

"_Tiffany…" _seeing her like that is something he can't ignore; fortunately, after they performed this song, all 6 of them will take a short break before closing with the final song with Roy's little surprise in store as well

"We'll just take a short break first so girls, you can all relax now ha-ha!" with that said, their fan girls did what as they're told and HTMLL stepped down the stage for a well-needed break

On their way back, they received cheers from their alumni, who are just a few inches near the stage "THAT WAS AWESOME! YOU GUYS RULE!" one praised

"Yo thanks for the compliment!" instead of Roy replying, his drummer buddy did it instead. Roy is focused on the surprise he's got in store for everyone

Recuperating their bodies and drinking water to energize them, the klutzy hostess went to check on them

"Looking good out there guys!" Sakura complimented, giving them 2 thumbs up

"Thanks, all 6 of us appreciate it" the drummer feels delighted

"No problemo! So how long will this break of yours be?"

"About 5-10 minutes I think…"

"Gee, good enough, you just have ONE more song right?"

"Yeah"

"Alright, see you guys back on the stage again!"

Now having their timeout, they regrouped for a while

"Alright guys, we talked about this a LOT of times so I believe we can pull this off well, I've been focused on this for some time" he told everyone

"I hear you dude, failure is not an option" added the bassist

"We only got one shot at this"

Natsu & Hinata still had their eyes on Tiffany

"Let's say we go check on her" Hinata requested

"We should come on" they both head for her aid

The Pacific cheerleader is now covering her face with her arms on her lap to avoid everyone seeing her feeling jealous and upset about what transcended awhile ago

"Tiffany? You alright?" The Taiyo student asked her; her only response was just a shake of her head

"Tiffany?" she asked again; this time Natsu intervened

"Tiffany, look at us come on, you can't be like this forever" the Gorin student's words were convincing enough to make her do so

"Hinata, Natsu…" she muttered their names. Moments later, Boman arrived after answering nature

"How is she doing?"

"Her face tells the whole story" Natsu replied

Upon looking at her, he thinks the opposite "I'm positive that she's just overwhelmed by his presence"

Both gave him a "WTF" look like before

"Wha-Wha-What do you mean?"

"Only I and everyone else here understand" his answer still didn't meet both their expectations

The two girls just looked at each other, confused

*chuckles* "Anyways, both of you will find out as Roy and his pals return to the stage for one final performance and there, a surprise is waiting to happen after that" he added more

"OK whatever you say there, come on Natsu"

Once they left, Tiffany tried to call them but failed

"Feeling alright now Tiffany?"

"I think so Boman; you're right, I was just overwhelmed by his presence…"

"I told you so…"

"Sorry again"

"It's alright; you're not like this a long time ago, right?"

"Yeah I know, not sure why, must be my imagination or something"

Back with HTMLL, where they're all set to do one more song to close the show

Sakura realized that their time is almost up, she checked up on them

"Yo guys, your time's already up"

"We know, we're just about to set foot on stage" one of them told her

"Alright then, close the show with a blast guys!" she had high hopes for them

"Oh we will Sakura because there'll be a surprise waiting to happen" says the one who'll be participating in it

"OMG Really? I can't wait to see it! I hope it will really be a surprise!"

"I, I mean, we guarantee it, right guys?"

"YEAH!"

"Looking forward to it!" outside, their fan girls are at it again, chanting and screaming for them to come up on stage

"Sheesh, I thought their throats would be hurting by now" the drummer joked

"Life's full of surprises, dude" the keyboardist added, all of them, including Sakura laughed

"OK guys, let's do this!" Roy motivated them as head for the stage for a final time

"Good luck guys" she waved at them

"_Gee, I wonder what kind of surprise will take place later."_

"_Seeing her upset earlier, I don't want that to happen to her ever again; Tiffany, prepare to be blown away"_

Soon, they're all on stage once again, returning to their original positions, much to the delight of the crowd, especially to their batch

"Sorry if we took long, we we're just recuperating back there" he apologized to the crowd

"Nah, it's alright man, we're all here for you dude!" one from his batch yelled, a few others followed suit

"Thanks man!" he gave a thumb up

"OK back to business, this is our last song to perform" the crowd's reception's a more gloomy contrast to the previous ones

"Awwwww" being their response

"Sorry that's our limit but there'll be a surprise waiting to happen I guarantee it" with that the crowd got electrified again

"Here we go, ready guys?" covering the mic, he told his band mates

They nodded their heads and raised their fists in the air as a positive response; in return, he nodded as well

"This song is dedicated to the girl I always have feelings for" the entire crowd wooed to what he said "To the girl I always had my mind and eyes set on; I know her for a long time and I realized that she is the one, the one for me" he added

"This song is for you, the one I that my heart belongs to" done with his intro, the keyboardist started the song; as he starts the song off, many recognized the tone and they immediately clapped and cheered on for them

The song is _"Faithfully"_ by _Journey_

Beginning to sing it, all the girls, especially from his school, woo and scream over his voice capturing the one similar to Steve Perry's

_Highway run into the midnight sun _

_Wheels go round and round_

_You're on my mind _

Like the time when he sang _Your Guardian Angel _moments earlier, almost every girl in the audience, excluding Tiffany of course, began screaming and go insane over hearing his delicate voice

_Restless hearts sleep alone tonight _

_Sending all my love along the wire _

Unlike her schoolmates who are obviously enjoying every moment of his performance, she's feeling all gloomy inside, seeing that her friends woo over him. I guess you can say that the song is kinda relating a bit to her

_They say that the road _

_Ain't no place to start a family _

_Right down the line it's been you and me _

_And loving a music man _

_Ain't always what it's supposed to be _

_Girl _

_You stand by me _

_I'm forever yours _

_Faithfully _

Finish with the 1st half of the song; they all applauded, while the girls still do their usual antics

_Circus life under the big top world _

_We all need the clowns to make us laugh _

_Through space and time _

_Always another show _

Like what happened with _When I See You Smile, _some of his male batch mates lit up his lighter as a joke

_Wondering where I am lost without you _

_And being a part ain't easy on this love affair _

_Two strangers learn to fall in love again _

_I get the joy of rediscovering you _

"_Roy Bromwell, will you ever know how I feel about you?" _she starts having memories and flashbacks of her and him together; to add up, her face shows her in a nostalgic and emotional state

The young preacher-in-training noticed her new dilemma, but instead of springing into action to comfort her like he did moments ago, he just gazed at her

"_Don't worry Tiffany, that frown of yours will turn upside down"_

_Oh girl _

_You stand by me _

_I'm forever yours _

_Faithfully _

"Like I said, this song is dedicated to the one girl I always have feelings for…" he told the crowd, placing his guitar on the stage floor

"Take over guys!" he commanded the bassist to take over the main vocals while the other 2 guitarists to take over

Much to the surprise of everyone in the crowd, he walked off the stage, taking the microphone with him and proceeded to walk towards his batch, surprising his fan girls

"Over here Roy, I'm that girl right?" one chanted

"In your dreams, that's me of course!" another argued

"You're both wrong! That chosen girl is none other than me!" while another one, this caused a domino effect since a few more girls joined in the argument and with that, a verbal catfight ensues

"Whoa, this is getting very, very, **VERY **interesting" Ran took the snapshots of the current situation

"Indeed it is, it's a surprise waiting to happen!" Sakura joined in

"And what do you mean by that?" Iicho got curious

"Oh you'll find out, just watch…" Hinata and Natsu have their eyes focused on the fiasco as well

_*chuckles* "Anyways, both of you will find out as Roy and his pals return to the stage for one final performance and there, a surprise is waiting to happen after that"_

The former of the two remembered what Boman said

"I'm wondering what surprise Boman just told us earlier…"

"We're about to find out right about now…"

Overwhelmed by the past memories, Tiffany is oblivious to know of the ongoing commotion when Boman gave her a bright red rose, getting her attention

"Wow, thank you Boman, its beautiful"

"You're welcome…" Suddenly, several other guys from their batch stood up from their seats and, one by one, proceeded to do the same to her, surprising her and catching the attention of her other school mates

"Hey, how come she gets roses and not one of us?" one complained

"That's not fair! Why only her?"

"What's the meaning of this?" As usual, jealousy takes over

The surprising situation also caught the attention of the other schools as well

"What the… Look what's going on there" one girl from Gorin told her friends

"I know look, she's being given roses and stuff" one from Seijyun

"I wonder why only her?" one from Taiyo

"Onii-chan look!" Akira told her older brother

"I know Akira, it's like we're watching straight out of a cheesy teen romance film or something…"

Although being continuously adored by the other girls, he kept his cool and just smiled at them as he continues his pace towards Tiffany, who continues to be given roses by almost all the males

"For you, Tiffany" one boy said, giving her a rose

"Gee uh thanks"

"Here you go, Tiffany"

"Wha- Wow, thank you"

"Hope you like it"

"Of course I will. Th-thank you"

Her receiving roses from several of her male school mates caught her off guard, but she maintained herself and gladly accepts each one

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh _

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh _

The bassist took over the main vocals as Roy told him so while the other two guitarists continue to play along to the song as she continues to be showered with roses

_Faithfully _

_I'm still yours _

Down to the last 4 boys, they all did what the others did and went back to their seats; overwhelmed by the amount of roses she has with her now, she just gazes at them, oblivious to the fact that his presence is nearby. He continues his pace towards her, ignoring the woos from the other girls

_I'm forever yours _

_Ever yours _

_Faithfully_

Their 4th and last performance has finally concluded, the crowd gave them one final round of applause and before she realized it, Roy is already in front of her; she couldn't believe her eyes as she sees him standing in front of her

"R-R-Roy…" with her eyes wide open, she muttered his name, still holding on to the roses

"Tiffany…" he spoke on the mic, cutting off the applause and grabbing everyone's attention, even the verbal catfight between his fangirls stopped

"Ever since we knew each other during our time in Pacific, I always had an interest in you but I couldn't express them in words" the crowd remained silent, paying their attention to the fiasco

Tiffany remained speechless, unable to come up with a proper reply to what he said

"Whoa boy! We have a situation going on right now!" the young journalist-to-be immediately turned her attention to the 2 blondes, readying her video camera

"RAN! Have some courtesy for crying out loud! They're having an intimate and private moment now" Chairperson scolded her

"What? I'm sure those 2 won't mind!" she carried on with what she's doing

"_That obviously is the surprise Roy's talking about…"_ Sakura realized _"Wasn't expecting this to be one of them I must say"_

Unsurprisingly, Hinata and Natsu have their eyes set on them

"This must be the one Boman was talking about earlier"

"I agree Hinata…"

"I'm sorry if I didn't pay much attention to you during those early times and I'm here to make up for those missed opportunities. Tiffany, I realized that you're truly the one for me; you're the girl I always have feelings for; the one girl that I always had my mind and eyes set on" she starts to blush to his sweet choice of words

"Roy… Bromwell…" he approached a little more closely to her, making her blush some more as they look at each other eye to eye

"_Roy…"_

"You and I are the perfect two; I want us to be together" then suddenly, he bended down on his left knee, surprising many others nearby and making her gasp

"You are more than my best friend; you're my life and my soul. Tiffany, you mean everything to me; you mean everything to my life. You should know by now that you have my heart and I hope I have yours too. I'll stay by your side forever"

"So please do me this honor and take my hand" he held her left hand, and popped the question

"Tiffany Lords, will you marry me?" he said on the mic, still holding her hand

Everyone remained silent as they wait for her reply; even his band mates wait for her answer

"Oh my, oh my gosh…" she muttered softly; emotionally overwhelmed by what he just asked her, memories of them both start lingering in her mind as she accidentally dropped the roses that were given to her on the ground and started to cry, shocking him a bit

Hinata and Natsu look concerned, so does everyone nearby with the exception of Ran, whose still recording everything on video

She looked at him amidst her teary eyed face; he looked back, still awaiting her answer

Then surprisingly, she held both the mic and his hand with both her hands as tears start to fall slowly from her eyes, and slowly pulled off a smile "R-R-Roy…" she muttered softly so it won't reach the mic

*sniff* *sniff* "YES!" she finally replied and it was the answer he's been waiting and expecting to hear

"Yes, I will marry you!" she added, accompanied by a nod

Hearing her say that overjoyed him as everybody from their school cheered and applauded the two

"Yeah!"

"Way to go Roy!"

"Lucky guy you are!"

Having left their positions, Roy's band mates grouped together to praise and applaud their friend; they congratulate each other for doing an excellent performance today

The two hugged each other after that; even his fan girls we're happy to see the sweet scene even though they feel a little jealousy within them

Everyone from host Taiyo, Gedo, Gorin, and Seijyun also show their gratitude to the scene

Boman looked at his 2 friends and congratulated them

"Congratulations Roy and Tiffany, I wish you the best for the future…"

"Aww…" is all that Hinata and Natsu can say at the romantic scene

"It finally happen, her dream of him realizing her feelings for him has come true" the former told the latter

"It sure is…"

Sakura and Chairperson looked on as well with the former having a sweet look at them while the latter just smiled, crossing her arms

Finished hugging, he reached onto his left pocket to get something; he pulled it out and to everyone's surprise, including hers obviously, it's a small box. He opened it, revealing 2 beautiful, expensive, golden engagement rings

He took out one of them and slowly placed it at her right index finger

"Wow, it's so beautiful" she's dazzled at the glamorous piece of jewelry

"Just like you" he stood up and took the other ring and wore it as well

Overwhelmed with joy, she hugged him again and this time, he grasped on to her as both of her feet avoid touching the ground. The hug bears a striking similarity to how she kisses him during their _Rival Schools_ adventure. The scene made everyone woo and applaud again

"ROY! TIFFANY! KISS!" one guy from his batch shouted, which caused everyone to do the same

"KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!" The 2 new lovebirds glanced at everyone, requesting them both to do so

The engaged couple looked back at each other again and kissed passionately; everyone cheered on to them; they all stood up and applauded for them

"_Roy, you've finally realized my feelings for you after all…"_

Done smooching, he grabbed one of the roses she unintentionally dropped at the ground and gave it to her; with that, they simply cuddled and eyed one another with smiles on both their faces as they continued to be showered with claps and praise from not only their fellow Pacific pals, but from everyone in the crowd


	7. Aishiteru

After that happy moment at the alumni homecoming, the strong-armed American football player and the sexy American funky cheerleader have since become a happily engaged couple for 4 years

4 years after he proposed to her, they already have plans to marry soon on August 24 back in their home country in the city of angels, Los Angeles

They already sent invitations via e-mail not only to their school buddies, but also to the ones who attended the homecoming

The invitation reads:

**You're cordially invited to celebrate the wedding of**

**Tiffany Lords**

**Roy Bromwell**

**On Friday afternoon**

**August 24**

**At 3'o clock**

**Eighty-nine West Pacific St.**

**Followed by a reception**

Both told their parents about their engagement and they were very pleased and happy to hear the news

The wedding will take place at a beautiful resort near Hollywood, CA, which they themselves chose

Aside from hiring master wedding masters and organizers, Roy also hired the same 3 people who also organized the alumni homecoming years earlier, only this time there won't be any klutzy host this time obviously; additionally, since his good friend Boman finished his training in to becoming a preacher, it comes as no surprise that the groom-to-be asked him to take over the position

The three organizers are checking out the place where the wedding will soon take place

"Isn't this villa beautiful?" Ran started taking pictures of the place  
>Stretching her arms, the klutzy school girl agrees with her *sigh* "Sure is, I can stay here all day-"<br>"You two can rest later but right now we have to organize, organize people this place just like how we did back at that homecoming!"  
>"Chill out Iicho, it's our first time being in the United States and we want to relax for a while!"<br>"Paparazzi girl's right, let's all take a time to indulge ourselves today! Besides, the wedding's still a couple of weeks from now"  
>"You haven't changed a bit…" *chuckles*<p>

"Chill out Iicho, let's relax for a bit" says the school girl, gazing at the bright blue sky

"She's right you know, it's the first that we've been in this country"  
>*sigh* "Guess you're right, but we'll start organizing by next week, got that?"<br>"OK!"  
>Then, the selected preacher for the wedding has arrived to check the place "Wow, I'm surprised to see you here" … and the three girls<p>

"Hey there, Boman!" Ran's the first one to notice his presence

"Hi there too, so what can you say about this place they selected?"

"It's awesome, they picked the right location for their wedding" she agreed with him, the other two followed suit

"Since it's the first time you 3 visited the United States, let's say that I take you a trip around?" his selfless request surprised them

"You're kidding right?" Ran couldn't believe it

"No I'm not" *chuckles* "I want my overseas friends to enjoy their stay here until the wedding day arrives"  
>"Wow Boman, that's so generous of you" Chairperson thanked him<p>

"Cool Boman, do we get to see the Statue of Liberty or the Brooklyn Bridge?" Sakura couldn't control her excitement

"Well, if we're in New York we can, but we're in California and it's gonna take us like a couple of days or even a week for us to get there"  
>"Aww that sucks…"<p>

"Calm down Sakura, you're like a French poodle on steroids" joked Ran

"Can't help it! *giggles*"

"Since the wedding of Roy & Tiffany is still a few weeks ahead, I can take all 3 of you in sight-seeing right now"

"Really?"

"That's right, Ran, I'll be taking the 3 of you for a fun sight-seeing adventure today"

"Thanks Boman!" Sakura jumped with joy

"This sounds like fun, but what about-"

"The decorations and the organizing for the wedding, these guys will handle it so don't worry about it"

"Alright…"

"YAHOO! Sightseeing here we come!" Sakura pumped her fist in the air

On the other side of the story, since Tiffany flew to Japan to see her two best friends, in this case it's now the other way around; the three of them are strolling around a shopping mall, looking for the perfect wedding gown for her; in the case of Hinata and Natsu, this all seems like déjà vu to them since the two of them were strolling around a shopping center prior to her arrival; at the suggestion of her mother, Natsu & Hinata decided to stay at their friend's house much to her delight since her mother's very eager to see them both

"Wow, the malls here in America are so much cooler than back in Japan!" complimented the upbeat Taiyo student, wearing the pink beret that she received from her American friend  
>"I know right? That's why my friends and I always go out shopping on weekends!"<br>"No wonder, you're so into fashion and cute clothes…" added the Gorin volleyball player, wearing the high heels she got from her  
>"I know right? Speaking of fashion and cute clothes, we better look for the perfect wedding dress for me" the bride-to-be remembered<br>"Yeah, Natsu & I will help you in picking out the appropriate dress for you!"  
>"He-he, thanks you two"<br>"Question is, where is the wedding dress store?"  
>"Not too worry, I roamed around this place many, many times so I memorized the whole building; I know where it is, just follow me!"<br>"Alright Tiffany, lead the way for us!"

Coincidentally, on the other side of the same mall, Roy, along with two of his band pals, are also looking for something suitable for them to wear at the wedding  
>"So it's true that, out of the other available people around, you single handedly picked Boman to be the preacher for your wedding with Tiffany?" one of them asked<br>"Yup, besides he's the only guy I know I can depend on"  
>"Alright, then again, I found out that he finished his training into becoming a preacher…"<br>"That's right, and my wedding is his first test!"  
>"I wish him luck… " the other of his pals added<p>

"Now, all I have to do now is look for a good looking tuxedo" the groom-to-be told them

"Yeah, and we all know that you love high class brands"

"And don't you ever forget about that" they all shared a laugh

After a few minutes of walking through various places, the three finally reached their destination

"Well here we are!"  
>"Holy mackerel Tiffany, all of the clothes here look SO beautiful and glamorous!"<br>"So many to choose from, it might take long for us to pick the right wedding dress for you" Natsu got a bit concern  
>"Nonsense, my eyes can tell which one will fit me the best"<br>"OK Tiffany, whatever you say"

Everywhere they go, many lovely made wedding gowns and additional outfits are on display

"Wow, so many beautiful dresses in here" Hinata feasted her eyes on the displays, in awe of the designs

"I feel you Hinata, so many choose to from; hey Tiffany?"

"Yeah?"

"There are so many good ones to pick out; you think you know which one to wear?"

"Since I love fashion so much, I know what to wear for our wedding with Roy on August 24"

"Alright if you say so"

As they continue to stroll around the store "Ooh wow, this looks nice" the bride-to-be already found her first choice to wear

"What do you think?" she showed it to them

"Looks very pretty, fit you very well" complimented the Gorin volleyball player

"And if I may add up, very cute" added the Taiyo school girl

"You think so? Thanks- Hmm, this looks good too!" she found another dress of choice

"Oh, I like them both!" she muttered "I wonder which one is the right- This one looks good too!" and she found another dress of choice, much to their chagrin

"Hey Natsu…"

"Yeah Hinata?"

"This is gonna take a while, will it?"

"I think you're right, this is gonna take a VERY LONG while…" they exchanged words as they see their friend choose from gown to gown

"Gee I wonder how long will it take for her to finally decide to which one to wear?"

Natsu looked at her sports watch "Oh I don't know, maybe an hour and a half?"

"Crap…" grimaced Hinata

Like Tiffany, Roy and his two pals also found the men's clothing store

"Damn Roy, so many cool suits to choose from"

"I know right? I'll have to pick out the right one for me" unlike his future wife, it doesn't take him long to choose a suit for him to wear

"Don't worry guys; I've got an eye for cool suits, I've watched a lotta movies!" he told them proudly

Returning to the three girls…

Near the dressing room, the two girls wait for the future bride to try on several dresses she got from the displays; outside, they wait for her to make a final decision and to make things more embarrassing, outside her dressing room is a small pile of dresses that she tried and on and took off, much to the annoyance of both the employees and other customers

"Man, it's been 30 minutes already and she hasn't made her choice yet…" Natsu starts to grow impatient

"How many dresses will she even try on until she makes a final decision? *stomach grumbles* and I'm feeling hungry already" Hinata complained

While they continuously wait, one of the salesladies approached them both

"Excuse me but are you 2 friends of the one trying on several dresses?" she asked them

"As a matter of fact, yes we are…" Natsu answered

"You see, ma'am, she wants to try out many dresses as possible before coming up with her final choice of what to wear"

"I see; I guess you can call her a desperate bride-to-be?" she joked

"Ha-ha, yeah, you can say that…"

"If I may ask, when will she be married?" she got curious

"A few weeks from now, on the 24th of August"

"At a beautiful resort near Hollywood!" Hinata continued

"Wow, you don't say!"

"Yup, it will be a memorable one for sure!"

"I'm sure it will be one; I wonder how she met her dream boy."

"Well, they we're classmates in the same high school here before studying abroad in our home country of Japan; prior to them studying there, she immediately fell in love with him and since then, she always had feelings for him"

"Oh, wow, that's sweet…"

"Sweet, but this is sweeter, during our alumni homecoming, he proposed to her 4 years ago!" Hinata added "It was a very unforgettable moment for both of them!"

"I'm not surprised about that and you're right, that is sweeter"

As the 3 continue with their conversation…

"This is perfect! Natsu! Hinata!"

"Finally, she's done in the nick of time" exclaimed Natsu as the three, including the employee rushed to her location

"I wonder how she looks…. whoa"

Hinata suddenly became speechless upon seeing her

"Well, how do I look?" the bride-to-be asked them whilst striking a seductive pose

"Wow, Tiffany, you look so, so gorgeous!" complimented Natsu

"Why thank you, Natsu"

Hinata, still unable to believe her eyes, tried to choose the right words to compliment her "Tiffany, I don't know what to say, you look very fabulous in that wedding dress"

"I do, do I not?" she bowed down like a princess to show off

"So is this your final choice?" the school girl asked

"As a matter of fact, it is, I'm taking this one"

"You made the right choice, ma'am" the employee joined in the conversation

"I did?"

"You sure did, ma'am, that dress you're wearing right now is one of our best-sellers"

"Wow, I guess I really did make the right choice"

"Consider yourself lucky because that's the last one" she informed

"Whoa, can I say lucky me?"

"You can say that…" Hinata suggested, they all shared a friendly chuckle

Minutes after making her choice, she purchased the dress she'll wear on August 24

"Thank you for shopping here, have a nice day" greeted the saleslady

"You're welcome, have a nice day also"

"And before I forget, congratulations on your wedding"

Tiffany's pleasantly surprised to hear those words come out of her mouth "Oh, how'd you know about my wedding date?"

"Oh, I asked your 2 friends about it while you we're in the dressing room"

"I see"

"We just had to tell her because Natsu & I know that it'll be a spectacular event for you and Roy"

"Oh gee, thanks Hinata!" she blushed.

"So, that's the name of the lucky groom-to-be"

"Yup, that's his name"

"Very manly name it is, again, congratulations on your wedding, not to mention my best regards"

"Thank you again" the three prepare to exit

"Thanks for the wonderful conversation we had awhile ago" thanked Hinata

"Yeah, it was completely worth our while" added Natsu

"Please, don't mention it"

"Good bye, have a nice day"

"It's been a pleasure talking with you!"

"Likewise here" both parties waved goodbye to each other as the three exits the store

"That was a nice moment we had" exclaimed Natsu, looking back at the front of the store "Talking to that kind saleslady…"

"I know right? She's so friendly, not to mention that she's about the same age as you, Tiffany"

"So true Hinata, I bet she's still single…"

"Yeah I think so too…"

Now that they're done, returning to Roy and his pals; in contrast to Tiffany, he was able to find a tuxedo in less than 15 minutes

While he tries it on, his 2 buddies just look around the place aside from the mannequins and other displays when one of them had their caught by a certain sight

"Hey dude…"

"What is it?"

"Look at that hot clerk over there" the other looked at where he pointed

"Whoa, you're right man, she is sexy!" the woman they're gazing at is counting the cash from the register; the two continue to look at her when Roy got out of the fitting room, all dressed in the tuxedo he's currently trying on

"Yo dudes, what do you think?" his pals gave a good look at his choice of attire

"Roy, you look like a Mafia Don"

"I know right?"

"Yeah, just like _Don Vito Corleone_ from _The Godfather_"

"Ha-ha yeah, _"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"_" he muttered one of the famous quotes from the film, much to his friends' delight

"Ha-ha good one, Roy!"

"With that outfit, you also look like James Bond!" his other pal added

"Bond. James Bond." He imitated and posed said character

"Damn, it fits!" they all laughed "So, is that the one you're gonna wear this August 24?"

"Yeah this is the one" he looked at the mirror again to tidy himself when something caught his attention, on a nearby display is a top hat; Gazing at it, he took it and tried it on

"Yo man, what you have in mind trying that on?"

"Oh nothing, just wanna see how I look with this on"

"Dude, you look like one of those Hollywood stars from the 1930s"

"I do, do I? Like Fred Astaire?"

"Yeah, you kinda nailed it though…"

"Yeah I know, well that's enough games for now…" he told them as he placed the headwear back to the display

"So, that's what you're gonna wear for sure?"

"Yup" he went back inside the fitting room

Now back in his original attire, he purchased the suit he'll wear on the day he and Tiffany will tie the knot.

"Thank you, have a nice day" says the clerk to Roy

"Same to you" he replied

"Uh…uh…umm…Hi" one of his buddies who's been eyeing said clerk tried to get her attention

"Hello…" she responded

He struggled to say something else "You're looking beautiful today…"

"Oh why thank you…"

"I agree with my buddy here, ma'am, you are very pretty"

The compliments coming from Roy's buddies made her face red "Oh my, do you 2 really mean those words you're saying?"

"We really do, ma'am!"

The ongoing situation's kinda making Roy laugh a bit within him

"If you say so…" then of her co-workers called her for an assistance of some sort

"Ooh sorry guys, but I have to go; I need to help one of my fellow employees with stuff around here"

"No, no it's fine we don't wanna intrude or disturb you in your workplace anyway!"

"Yeah, we want you to work like the pretty woman you are now, so don't mind us, alright?"

"Sure thing you two, I'll shall be going now, alright?"

"Yeah, you must, your friend is waiting though"

"Yeah, well gotta go"

"Bye too, nice talking with you today"

"Likewise, my name's Patricia btw"

"Wow, cute name"

*giggles* "Thank you, I'm off now" she leaves her place and heads to assist her co-worker and friend

"Sure, good day" Roy's buddies waved goodbye to her as she proceeds to where her pal is; seeing her leave, the 2 gazed at her friend, who is also quite lovely and cute

"Dude, look at her friend!"

"Yeah, she's as hot as Patricia!"

Hearing their chat from a far, the 2 girls looked at them; at first they smiled, then they giggled

"Umm guys, should we be going now?" Roy's patience ended

"Oh sorry dude, we kinda got carried away there a bit"

"Yeah, sorry man, he-he"

"It's fine, you'll get them soon, ha-ha"

"You think so?"

"Yup, just pray that they're still single" Roy laughed

"Oh yeah, that's one thing"

"You got a point there though…" the three laughed  
>"Oh crap!" exclaimed Roy, looking at his watch which is an hour before lunch<p>

"What is it Roy?"

"There's a game after 12 o'clock!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot!"

"We gotta, hurry back to my place, call the others!"

"I'm on it!"

Meanwhile, back with the future bride and her 2 friends, having a lunch break at a fast food restaurant

"The food taste great!" exclaimed the young Taiyo girl "I've always wanted to eat at an American restaurant"

"And you are now!" followed the bride-to-be, with her gown next to her

"I gotta say Tiffany, what I see in those Hollywood films on TV are true…" concluded the Gorin athlete

"Of course it is, Natsu"

As they chat, 2 people approached them

"Tiffany?" called the first one

"Is that you?" so does the other. Turning to where she's called, she realized that it's her friends from back in Pacific

"Oh hey you 2!" overjoyed seeing them, she stood up and hugged them both

"Long time, no see you two!"

"We can say the same to you!"

"Umm, Tiffany, I can't breathe"

"Ha-ha, sorry I kinda got carried away there!"

"It's OK, so how's it been after all this time?"

"Doing pretty good actually"

"Good to hear that"

"How about both of you?"

"Well, nothing much really…"

"Just simple stuff going on, that's all, mind if we sit next to you?"

"Yeah sure, no problem"

The blonde's two overseas friends look on with smiles as they sit in front of them

"Are these your friends?"

"Yes they are; Natsu, Hinata, meet my friends from Pacific, Olivia & Cynthia"

"Hello there…" greets the former

"Greetings and Salutations!"

"Hi, good to see you"

"Nice to meet the friends of the future bride!" exclaimed Hinata, which shocks both of them

"Huh?"

"Did you just say "future bride"?

"I sure did!"

"What does she mean Tiffany?"

"Haven't both of you been checking Facebook?" her friends just eyed at each other clueless

"Sorry, been busy for a while" reasoned Olivia

"The Wi-Fi in my neighborhood has a low signal"

"Oh, well I'll give you both an answer to what she said" she showed them her wedding gown

"Is that yours?"

"Of course, DUH!"

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope, I am not…" she let out a smile

"Don't tell me you're…" Cynthia gave back the gown

"That's right, I'm gonna get married!"

"To who?"

"None other than to the guy who I laid my eyes on, Roy Bromwell!" she said with confidence

"Wow, congratulations!"

"Thanks Cynthia!"

"Just out of curiosity, how did he know you had feelings for him?"

"You wanna know, Olivia? He proposed to me!"

"He did?"

"Proposed to you? No way!"

"Yes and yes way! Didn't you 2 attend the alumni homecoming back then?"

"We did! Guess we weren't paying attention that time"

"Oh, I can't believe you guys…" she joked

"So when and where will the wedding take place?"

"It'll take place on August 24 at the beautiful resort "Twilight Dawn" near Hollywood, CA"

"Wow, beautiful choice for a wedding destination"

"Thanks, in fact, Roy & I selected the place ourselves"

"Well, imagine that…"

"I know right? Did you receive invitations yet?"

"Oh not yet, do you have any for us?"

"Of course I do, here you go"

"Thanks a lot"

"My pleasure!"

"Ooh look at the time, sorry Tiffany but Cynthia & I have to meet up with my mom at the shopping center right now"

"Oh it's fine"

"We'd love to stay & chat some more but this an emergency"

"Sorry Tiffany…"

"Don't worry about it you two at least I get to see you again since we graduated from Pacific"

"True that!"

"We gotta go now, Tiffany"

"Sure, take care…"

"Yeah bye, bye also to your buddies Natsu & Hinata!"

"It's been a pleasure meeting you two!"

"Likewise here" Natsu returned a favor

"Good to meet new friends!" followed the young Taiyo girl

"Same here! Bye now!" the two set off to the shopping center as the 3 waved back at them

"Some cool friends you got, Tiffany"

"Thanks Natsu, it's so nice to see them again too"

"I know how you feel, I wanna see the juniors I've coached back in Gorin again, they're like my 2nd family"

"Uh-oh, Natsu wants to be a mommy soon!"

"Oh quit it, Hinata!" the three shared a heartfelt chuckle

**~LATER THAT DAY~**

10 minutes before the game starts

The future groom & the rest of "HTMLL" are in the former's villa, watching another highly anticipated football game at his Hi-Def widescreen television

Like before, food and drinks are immediately set on the table

"Yo man, it's a good thing you reminded me that there's game right at this time"

"No problem dude, I don't wanna forget it too myself…"

"Who doesn't?" laughs occur when one of his buddies raised his cup of _Dr. Pepper _"I like to propose a toast to our buddy Roy Bromwell for his upcoming marriage on August 24"

"TO ROY!"

"Thanks guys, all of you are the best…" they clicked their respective cups and drink up as the game finally starts

As for the future bride, she went back to her job as a dance instructor for kids at a school near her neighborhood.

She is well-liked by everyone in the school, especially among the students due to her friendly and bubbly personality

"OK everyone" _*claps hands to get their attention* _"I want all of you to perform what I've taught you during our previous meetings" she called in her friendly tone

Her young students of 10 girls & 6 boys were a bit hesitant at first, but they did what they're being told anyway

Tiffany readies her iPod with the selected music to be played when her students begin dancing

"Places everyone" everyone stayed at their respective positions as they'll start

"When the music begins to play, that's your queue and a one, and a two…" _*presses play*_

The music being played is a hit dance pop song from the '90s

Her young students began performing in time with the music as she looks on

Nearly 5 minutes later, their performance has ended with most of them exhausted

"That was brilliant!" she praised, giving them a round of applause, much to the very delight of the young ones

"You really think so, Ms. Lords?" one of the males asked

"I'm not lying; it was very, very picturesque"

"Which means, you loved it?"

"Not only did I love it, I really enjoyed it!"

"All the things I have taught you all were really worth it! I'm so happy right now! Your performance was really beautiful & graceful!" she continued to give praise, which made them jump for joy with smiles across their faces

"Thank you so much for everything you've taught us, Ms. Lords" one female student thanked

"Why thank you dear" she gave her a friendly pat on the head

"Oh Ms. Lords, I have a question" another raised her hand

"Yes, what is it?"

"Is it true that you're engaged to someone?" the question surprised her classmates, not to mention shocking Tiffany

"What? Ms. Lords has a boyfriend?" one male exclaimed

"_What in the world? How did they know?"_

"Ms. Lords, is it true that you have a boyfriend?" one girl asked out of curiosity, making her face red

"What are you talking about? You're just hearing things!" she tried to cover it up, but to no avail

"Yeah right, Ms. Lords" her students didn't believe her little charade "Every time you talk on your iPhone, we hear you say lovey dovey things like "I love you too" or "I miss you so much" to someone"

Unable to believe at what's happening now, she gave up and told them the truth

"Alright, you caught me; yes it's true I'm engaged to someone"

"Awww…" they all reacted

"Do you have a picture of him?" one of the girls asked

"As a matter of fact I do, it's in my iPhone, give me a minute"

_*iPhone now in hand*_

"Everyone, gather around, and here he is" she showed them their picture; it depicts them at a park

"Wow, he's handsome!" another one of the girls exclaimed

"Why thank you…"

"What's his name?"

"His name's Roy Bromwell, I first knew him back when we we're classmates back in high school years ago"

"Cool, how did he know you liked him?"

"Actually he didn't…" her students pulled off a "WTF" look on their face

"But how did you 2 became a couple?"

"You all wanna know?"

"Yes!" they became eager

"You really wanna know?" she decided to play with them

"Yes we do!" they're even more eager

"You really, _really_ know?"

"YES WE DO!"

"Ms. Lords, we can't wait any longer!"

"Alright, alright I'll tell now, he proposed to me!"

"Wow he did?"

"He sure did"

"That's so sweet of him!"

"Yeah, to be honest, I cried when he did that"

"That's just normal Ms. Lords, those are tears of joy!"

"That's absolutely true!"

"Look, Ms. Lords is blushing!" one of the girls pointed

"Oh am I?"

"Yes you are!" both she and her students shared a friendly laugh

Lastly, Boman, along with Chairperson, Ran & Sakura, are enjoying a sightseeing trip around Hollywood, California

"I can't believe it, I'm actually here in Hollywood!" the klutzy schoolgirl exclaimed, recording every moment with her camera phone as nearby onlookers watch her every move

"OMG, The Walk of Fame"

"Sakura, you're making a fool out of yourself in public" Iicho seemed annoyed by her antics

"Don't be a buzzkill Iicho, I'm just having fun!"

"Yes I know, but can't you do it in another way?"

"Nope, guess not!"

"_Looks like she's enjoying herself way too much, but it's understandable since it's her first time here in the United States"_ Boman thought, as he plays the tour guide

"Look mom, I'm here right now in Hollywood with my friends, see!" Ran records her trip with her camcorder, which she points to the other 3

"Say hi Boman!" he smiled at the camera accompanied with a wave

"Yo, what's up Iicho!" she avoided being recorded, but Ran hesitantly pointed her camera to her face

"Ran, you know I'm a bit camera shy!"

"Oh really? Not in my watch!" lastly, she turns to Sakura

"Hey Sakura, you're on TV!"

"Hi!" she waved with her left hand, showing the V-sign

"Enjoying your trip around the entertainment capital of the world?" the young preacher asked the 3 girls

"We sure do!" Sakura fondly gazes at the names in each of the stars

"It's a moment I'll always cherish, I enjoy looking around this wonderful place" the calm and cool Chairperson looks around the nearby souvenir shops

"You bet I enjoy it, I don't want this day to end!" the young journalist-to-be continues to record everything in her way

"Umm, Ran, Sakura, ain't we forgetting something?" Iicho asked the 2

"What do you mean? I have all the stuff I need with me" the school girl checked her pockets and her fanny pack

"I can say the same Sakura" so does Ran

"That's not what I have in mind, you two!" Boman just kept his cool at the ongoing little ruckus

"Sheesh, then what is?"

"Oh I can't believe you two… The decoration and settings for the upcoming wedding of Boman's friends!"

"Oh that, of course we didn't forget it, right Sakura?"

"Yup, we didn't forget about it, not one bit!" the tones of both their voices speak otherwise

"Sure, sure, you two didn't forget about it!" she didn't buy their pleas

Their little ruckus continued amidst their sightseeing trip

**~AUGUST 24~**

The big day has finally arrived, the day that the strong-armed football player turned rock star and the sexy funky cheerleader turned dance instructor finally tie the knot

The venue for their wedding, Twilight Dawn, which the future couple themselves selected, is filled with beautiful and dazzling decorations; like most weddings, the white chairs are perfectly aligned and on the aisle, is a white carpet, dividing the row of chairs

Lastly, covered with white cloth, the tables are displayed with the best food from the respected high class chefs, again handpicked by the couple. The 3 layer wedding cake is beautifully baked and crafted; in contrast to other wedding cakes where 2 figures representing the bride and groom are shown on the top, it shows Roy & Tiffany in their _Rival Schools_-eraattire.

Other beautiful displays include a small fountain, an ice sculpture of the couple, an arch decorated with red and white roses directing to the path of the venue and among others

All decorations and makeovers are courtesy of wedding organizers and, of course, the 3 girls who also organized the alumni homecoming years earlier

"Wow, this is such a tasty looking cake!" Sakura leans over for a peak at the beautiful dessert

"Hold it there Sakura, that's not just for you, you know?"

"I know Ran, I'm just looking, and it's just very tasty!"

"Yeah, gotta hand it to you, it is scrumptious"

"You two better be not thinking of eating that!"

"Of course we're not! We're just looking at it"

"I've got my eye on you both…"

Not for long, the young preacher arrived at the scene, all dressed in clothes in accordance to his job and what he's about to do moments from now

Iicho was the first to notice his presence "Look its Boman, hey Boman!"

"Hello there Iicho, you look dazzling today"

"Why thank you" the other 2 girls soon followed suit

"Yo Boman!" still near the tables, Sakura just waved her hand from afar, which he did in return

"Say cheese, Boman!" Ran readied her camera, but he insisted in tidying up first so he can look good for the camera

"Alright, you may fire when ready" he joked

"Smile for the camera" she clicks the shutter

"Looking good here, Boman!" she showed him the result

"I looked better than I thought I would" he muttered, accompanied with a small chuckle

Soon, guests start arriving at the venue, taking notice of the beautiful decorations done within the place, much to the girls' delight

"Such wonderful decorations" one woman complimented

"I'm with you on that one" her husband agreed; the couple continued to gaze around for a bit more

"They like our work! I'm so happy!" Sakura whispered to the other 2

"I know right?" she and Ran gave each other a hi-5

"Everything went better than expected after all…" Iicho smiled after hearing the couple's compliment

Time passes and the entire venue starts to fill up with more guests, mostly friends and relatives of the couples

Later, some of the attendees of the homecoming, including those from Gedo & Seijyun, also arrived, much to the delightful surprise of Boman and the 3 girls

"Yo Boman, glad to see you here!" he is immediately greeted by his fellow Pacific batch mates

"Likewise to all of you"

"So you'll be the preacher of Roy & Tiffany's wedding eh?" another one of his batch mates asked

"That's true; in fact, I've been handpicked by Roy himself"

"Well I gotta say he made the obvious choice"

"Indeed he did"

"You look so cute Hinata!" Natsu complimented

"Thanks, I can say the same to you"

Later, the families of the couple arrived

**~THE BROMWELLS~**

"So this is the place my son and his girlfriend selected eh?" the groom's mother took notice of the venue "He & Tiffany made the right choice for it's a beautiful place for a wedding to commence"

"Indeed, and I gotta say that our son and his girlfriend have an eye for beautiful places" commented Roy's father

"They sure did, honey and I'm so happy to see our son finally become a man"

"Me too dear"

**~THE LORDS~**

"Such a beautiful place our daughter and her boyfriend selected for their wedding day, I'm so happy for both of them" the bride's father mentioned "Our little girl's now a woman"

"Likewise, this is the big day the 2 have waited for nearly 4 years since he proposed to her" commented Tiffany's mother

"This is something that they'll always cherish throughout their lives"

"Ours too dear…"

Later, the 2 families happily conversed with each other, happily commenting about their respective children tying the knot; soon, Boman joined in their conversation

"Why look who's here, their young preacher friend…" Tiffany's mother noticed

"How's it been after all this time?" Roy's mother followed suit

"Everything is going well for me"

"Of course it is since you're the one our children picked to preach for their wedding" the future bride's father added

"Gotta agree with him, this is, let's say, an offer you obviously can't refuse" the future groom's father followed suit

"True, I feel happy and blessed that I've been chosen to be the preacher for the wedding of my 2 best friends" the young and enthusiastic preacher told both families with a happy tone

Somewhere in the venue, by the back, Roy's band HTMLL, are busy rehearsing 2 songs that they're gonna play for the couple as they walk down the aisle later and like the venue, the couple picked the songs themselves

Likewise, somewhere around the venue nearby…

Tiffany is busy fixing her appearance, with some help from none other than Roy's two older sisters

"My sister and I are not gonna lie, you look so gorgeous in that wedding dress" one of the sisters complimented while fixing her future sister-in-law's hair, while the other watches

"Why thank you and you know what, this was the last of its kind"

"Wow, lucky girl you are I'll say"

"I sure am…" *giggles*

"Of course you are, now just close your eyes while add the finishing touches to your hair"

**~ MINUTES LATER~**

"Can I open my eyes now? It's been like 10 minutes or so already"

"Not yet, just making sure that there are no flaws in your hair…"

"…."

"OK, you can open your eyes now!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, this is definitely for sure"

"If you say so…" Doing what she's told Tiffany opened her eyes and is pleasantly surprised by what she sees

"Wow, my hair's so, my hair's so, my hair's so beautiful than ever!" she complimented, continuing to look at the mirror, gazing at her new hairdo

"You think so?"

"Are you kidding? I love it! I feel like a _Disney_ princess with this hairdo!"

"We're happy that you liked what we did to your hair!"

"Why will I not? It's so nicely done!" both future bride and sisters hugged

Likewise, Roy is preparing himself as well

While doing so, he's just happily humming a tune from one of his favorite songs, _"What I like About You" _by_ The Romantics_

Done fixing his hair, he fixed any wrinkles present on his tuxedo

"Not too shabby…" he muttered, looking at the mirror to see if there's still any flaw he missed on his attire

After a few minutes passed, he now looks well-dressed "Oh yeah, who's that good-looking guy?" he joked, posing at the mirror by clutching on both the collars of his suit

The future couple prepare for their biggest day, so do the guests which include the ones from their school and from the alumni homecoming, HTMLL, and the couple's friend, Boman, whose busy rehearsing his duties as a preacher

**~IT BEGINS~**

"I wonder when they'll be arriving." Hinata wondered

"I can ask myself the same question…" Natsu followed suit

The guests eagerly wait for their arrival when HTMLL started playing a very familiar song; the keyboardist started playing the recognizable intro tune and the lead guitarist took over Roy's position as the vocalist and started to sing out the first stanza

The song they're playing is _"Can't Fight This Feeling" _by _REO Speedwagon_

_I can't fight this feeling any longer. _

_And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow. _

_What started out as friendship has grown stronger._

_I only wish I had the strength to let it show._

_I tell myself that I can't hold out forever. _

_I said there is no reason for my fear. _

'_Cause I feel so secure when we're together. _

_You give my life direction, you make everything so clear. _

As everyone listens to the soothing classic hit, by the entrance is none other than the groom, who's about to walk down the aisle, and on the carpet already covered with flower petals

_And even as I wander, _

_I'm keeping you in sight. _

_You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter's night. _

_And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might. _

_And I can't fight this feeling anymore. _

_I've forgotten what I started fighting for. _

_It's time to bring this ship into the shore, _

_And throw away the oars, forever. _

Walking down the middle, he waved to his parents and to the parents of his wife-to-be; in return, his Pacific buddies, including his fan girls, praise and congratulate him

_Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore. _

_I've forgotten what I started fighting for. _

_And if I have to crawl upon the floor, _

_Come crushing through your door, _

_Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore. _

_My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you. _

_I've been running round in circles in my mind. _

_And it always seems that I'm following you, girl, _

_Cause you take me to the places, _

_That alone I'd never find. _

He gave his fellow band members 2 thumbs up, and they acknowledged it

_And even as I wander, _

_I'm keeping you in sight. _

_You're a candle in the wind, on a cold, dark winter's night. _

_And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might. _

_And I can't fight this feeling anymore. _

_I've forgotten what I started fighting for. _

_It's time to bring this ship into the shore, _

_And throw away the oars, forever. _

_Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore. _

_I've forgotten what I started fighting for. _

_And if I have to crawl upon the floor, _

_Come crushing through your door, _

_Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore._

Done playing, the band received a round of applause, the same treatment they received back in the homecoming years earlier

Roy gave his preacher pal a hi-5

Few moments later, the keyboardist starts playing the famous wedding theme for a short while, and everyone was on their feet; after that, he shifts to a different note and begins playing a different song, and just like the previous one, he starts playing the intro tune to it and the rest of the band followed suit and this time, a different song obviously and for Tiffany; still, everyone's on their feet awaiting the bride's arrival

The song they're playing is _"Babe" _by _Styx_

_Babe, I'm leaving, I must be on my way_

_The time is drawing near_

_My train is going, I see it in your eyes_

_The love, the need, your tears_

_But I'll be lonely without you_

_And I'll need your love to see me through_

_Please believe me, my heart is in your hands_

_'Cause I'll be missing you_

A shadow appeared on the petal covered carpet, everyone turned to see her, wearing the glamorous dress she bought; a smile showed on her face, knowing that this a dream come true not only for her but also for her now-husband

_'Cause you know it's you babe_

_Whenever I get weary and I've had enough_

_I feel like giving up_

_You know it's you babe_

_Giving me the courage and the strength I need_

_Please believe that it's true, babe, I love you_

With a bouquet on her hands, she begins to walk on the aisle, all eyes are on her; she gave a cheerful glance to her parents and to Roy's parents, which they also did in return as well; behind her is one of Roy's sisters, holding the dress's long garment

_You know it's you babe_

_Whenever I get weary and I've had enough_

_I feel like giving up_

_You know it's you babe_

_Giving me the courage and the strength I need_

_Please believe that it's true, babe, I love you_

_Babe, I'm leaving, I'll say it once again_

_Somehow try to smile_

_'Cause I know the feelings we're trying to forget_

_If only for a while_

_'Cause I'll be lonely without you_

_And I'll need your love to see me through_

_Please believe me, my heart is in your hands_

_'Cause I'll be missing you_

Now standing near the love of her life, they exchanged glances and smiled at each other, with hers being more cheerful while his is just simple

_Babe, I love you_

_Babe, I love you_

_Ooh, babe_

"We are gathered here today to see these two people; Roy Bromwell & Tiffany Lords wed in holy matrimony" Boman began his duties

"If you may, you can start reading the vows you've made for each other"

With both now standing next to each other, the two read aloud the vows they made… starting with the bride

"Every moment that I've spent with you is something that I will forever cherish in my heart.

I knew from the day that I first knew you, destiny has put us together.

We've been through a lot of things in both of our lives; I'll remember those times as well.

My thoughts have been always about you and that's what keeps me smiling everyday

Our bonding together will last to the very end and if I may quote a lyric from a song by _The Beatles_

"_And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" _I love you so much, Roy Bromwell."

…and now, the groom

"I'm happy that we've met, you're my angel.

I always think of you from the day we became friends to the day that I realize that my heart truly belongs to you.

We had our ups and downs in life, but that doesn't stop my feelings for you.

I will forever cherish the moments we had together; those happy memories will forever be in our hearts & minds.

You truly are the one for me and if I may quote a lyric from one of the songs from the movie _Moulin Rouge!_ _"I will love you until my dying day"_

Tiffany Lords, I love you so much."

Now done reading aloud their quotes, Boman proceeds with the concluding parts as the couple now face each other, holding hands

"Do you take Tiffany as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do"

"Do you take Roy as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do"

"I now pronounce you husband and wife" they locked lips as everyone clapped their hands, but Roy suddenly grabbed Tiffany, swinging her to his left side and giving her an even more passionate smooch, much to everyone's surprise "Come on , baby!" he exclaimed, doing so

Caught up by the moment, she obviously enjoying the situation she's in and placed her arms around his shoulder, allowing his lips to lock with hers even longer; the whole scene made everyone go "WOOO" like in the homecoming, and with that, everyone stood up and clapped again, combined with cheers and whistling; HTMLL congratulating their buddy and fellow band mate; The entire Pacific alumni cheered for the new couple.

The entire kissing scene bears a striking resemblance to the photo of a sailor and a nurse kissing in a similar fashion

"At a boy, Roy!"

"That's our buddy right there!"

"Our son's now grown-up" Roy's mother complimented "That's right, honey, he's now on his own" so does his father

"Our little brother's now a man!" let's not forget his 2 older sisters

"Our daughter's now a lady!" Tiffany's mother complimented

"Our little girl's now a woman" so does her father

Ran joined other photographers to capture the moment

"I'm so happy for them!" Hinata commented. "Me too, this is a day they'll never, EVER, forget…" Natsu followed suit

*sniff* *sniff* "I just love happy endings!" muttered Sakura as she watches the couple in their most romantic moment ever as she cry tears of joy, much to the chagrin and embarrassment of her other 2 friends

"Ain't you being a little overdramatic there Sakura?"

"I can't help it Hinata, stuff like these rarely ever happen in front of my eyes you know!"

"Have you ever been to a wedding before?"

"Well yeah, Natsu, but not quite as unforgettable as this!" the 2 childhood friends exchanged glances with an awkward look on both their faces

The wedding reception was full of joy; many other couples dancing to HTMLL's soothing music and the guests having a ball, getting to know each other more and the couple getting the first slice from their wedding cake

The couple is now walking on the aisle, with Tiffany being carried by Roy, as they're being greeted by cheers from family and friends

As they're about to enter into Roy's brand new Ferrari

"Oh, just a minute, I forgot something!"

"What is it?"

"The bouquet!" she's ready to throw it

"Look, she's about to toss the bouquet!" someone from the Pacific alumni yelled, triggering a chain reaction of girls being ready in position, attempting to be the ones to catch

"Be careful, babe" *chuckles*

"Oh I will, don't worry!" with that, she tosses the bouquet to the crowd of rowdy girls

"Here it comes!" one shouted as they see it heading towards them

All the girls push each other as they put their hands up to get it, but their attempts ended in failure

They all look for it, thinking it was lost, but the bouquet ended up in the hands of a person no one would expect it to end up with… and those hands belong to Chairperson and she too wasn't expect it to end up on her hands

She has a look of surprise on her face as she just gazes at the beautiful bouquet; likewise, the other girls are just as surprised as she is

"Uhhhhhh….." her face blushed as her mouth is left wide open, unable to believe what just happened

"Ooh, Iicho you have the bouquet of flowers from Tiffany" noticed her fellow Taiyo buddy Hinata

"This is… just a surprise…"

"Hey every girl needs to experience such rare opportunities like these" Natsu joined in

"Yeah I know, but still…" she chuckled when Ran suddenly took a picture of her holding the bouquet, catching her off guard

"Hey Ran!"

"Ha-ha, you look so cute here, Iicho!"

"And by cute you mean that in a sarcastic manner, right?"

"No really look!" she showed her the shot

"Hey I do look cute…"

"Ha-ha, told you!" everyone shared a heartfelt chuckle

As for the Pacific newlyweds….

"Again, congratulations to you both!"

"Live a happy life you 2!"

"I'm sure you'll have a great family!" those are some of the words they've been receiving from their friends and loved ones

"We will, don't worry!"

"You can count on us!"

With that all said and done, the couple bid farewell to everyone and drove off to end the day with smiles on both their faces


	8. Together

Nearly a month after the memorable day that they've finally wed together in holy matrimony, the couple went on an expensive cruise for a honeymoon trip to Europe.

During their stay at the ship, the 2 watch and relax at the breath-taking view of the sunset in front of them

"Isn't the sunset lovely today?"

"It sure is, it's very beautiful, just like you"

"Thank you dear, I love you…"

"I love you too…"

They're first destination on their European honeymoon is Paris, France. Upon their arrival, it's already snowing everywhere

"Wow, we're finally here, the fashion capital of the world" she exclaimed, gazing continuously at the beautiful surroundings of the lovely city

"I've always dreamed of visiting Paris!" she begins taking pictures everywhere

"Me too darling and since we're here, let's make it memorable…"

The couple kicked off their French honeymoon by visiting the Eiffel Tower, gazing at the beautiful horizon of the city below; the floors are nearly jam-packed with a lot of people, both locals and foreigners alike, including the 2 of them

"It's such a wonderful view from up here" she complimented, being in awe at what she sees

"Wonderful indeed, it's so breathtaking" he added as they hold each other's hands

"Say we take a picture of us together here?"  
>"Of course…" he took out his digital camera and aimed it at themselves, clicking the shutter<p>

"We look so sweet here!"

"We'll always look sweet together…" he kissed her forehead "Love you, Tiffany…"

"Love you too, Roy…" she smooched his lips "My camera next!" she took it out

"Say cheese!"

"You look so cute here" his compliment made her blush "I've been cute since the day I was born!" they both shared a chuckle

"Hmm, I've got an idea, wait here" he has something in mind

"Where are you going?"

"I won't be far, just stay put" he then disappeared in the big crowd of people

"I wonder what's he gonna do?" while wondering what he's about to do, she continues to gaze and take photos of the iconic French monument

Roy approached a French couple about their age and asked them to take a picture of him & Tiffany with his camera; he conversed to them in their native language, albeit fluently

"Excuse me, hope I'm not of an interruption to both of you but I hope you won't mind if you would take a picture of me & my wife using my camera?" Surprised by the American's fluency in their native tongue, they gladly accept without hesitation

"Sure thing, sir!" the young Frenchman happily said yes while his fiancée smiled with delight as he handed them his camera

"Where is your wife by the way?" the fiancée asked

"Oh she's over there" he showed her where she is

"Wow, she's beautiful and young"

"Why thank you…" he then returned for her

"Sorry if I took long"

"What did you do?"

"I asked a local couple to take a picture of us here"

"Oh, how thoughtful…" they posed as they have their picture taken by the local lovebirds; looking at the photo, they smiled with delight

Again in French, he thanked the couple while his wife, unable to speak French like he does, just smiled and done a slight bow as the two couples part ways

"Why didn't you tell me you know how to speak French?"

"I wanted to surprise you…"

"Oh you…" *giggles* "Say, I have an idea myself…"

"You do?"

"Yup" she whispered to his ear so no one would hear it

"You took the words out of my mouth, dear" she just giggled

"Ready?"

"I'm always ready" she readies her camera, aiming at them both

"3, 2, 1…" *flashes*

The picture shows them locking lips

They both looked at the picture with satisfied looks as they exchanged glances to each other with a happy look on both their faces

Satisfied with their stay in Paris, they're next honeymoon will take place in London

"London, England, such a glorious town"

"Sure is, even I dreamed of travelling here"

"Wow that makes two of us…"

"Let's enjoy ourselves, shall we dear?"

"Of course, honey…"

Like in Paris, they visited the many famous places and monuments of the country

"Wow, Big Ben really is big from here…"

"Yeah, it's no surprise that it's been featured in many movies"

"Oh Roy"

"Yes dear?"

"Smile for the camera, darling" she stands near him

"I really love this shot of us, Big Ben's in the background"

"It really adds up to the picturesque beauty of the photo" The two also walked on the famous Abbey Road crossing

They decided to take a tour around the city by having a ride in one of the country's iconic double-decker buses, specifically at the top deck

Relaxing comfortably at their seats, they feel the breeze from the cold London wind

Sitting next to each other, they continuously gaze at the wondrous buildings of the city, with her resting her head on his shoulder

To conclude their English honeymoon, they had lunch at a high class restaurant, bought some souvenirs (they did so also when they we're still in Paris) and spent a few nights at a luxurious hotel

Almost a month in their European honeymoon, they boarded a ship, returning home to the U.S., leaving the continent happy and satisfied since it's their first honeymoon together as an officially married couple

Now back to their native country, they returned to their normal lives…

**~AT A FOOTBALL GAME~**

Already in their seats, HTMLL are just relaxing and watching the game from front row seats

"Boy, this is the life…" muttered one "Watching football in front row seats"

"I know right? The best seats in any sporting event there is!" another added

"True story, too bad Roy's not here so the fun would be complete"

"I know, he's probably still enjoying his honeymoon with Tiffany in Europe"

"Did someone mention me?"

"Speak of the devil, look who's here guys!"

"Hey dude, long time no see!"

"Right back at ya!"

"I thought you're still in Europe!"

"Ha-ha, you thought only! You really think that I'd miss an opportunity like this?" he sat next to all 5 of his buddies

"So how did the European honeymoon of the newlyweds go?"

"Oh man, it was awesome dude, we visited a lotta cool places, here look" he showed them the photos from his digital camera

"Whoa awesome pictures man…"

"Hey ain't that Abbey Road you two just crossed on?"

"The one and only…"

"Cool stuff…"

"We can look at the others later, the game's about to start…" Roy told them

"Heh, you're right, it is about to start" now all 6 members of HTMLL are watching the football game, cheering and supporting their favorite team

**~AT A DANCING SCHOOL~**

"_Oh it feels so good to be back here…"_ she thought as she enters the building

"_It's so fun teaching here…"_

Once inside, she's immediately greeted by her fellow dancing instructors

"Look who's here, the newlywed!" greeted one

"Ha-ha, thanks"

"How did the honeymoon go?" another asked

"Unforgettable and full of memorable moments"

"Is that so?"

"You betcha, see the shoes I'm wearing now? I bought them from Paris!"

"You're kidding!" her colleagues looked at the French footwear

"It's so pretty, I wanna go to Paris someday"

"You should, it's a great country and we also visited London" she showed a picture of them together

"Awww, you 2 look so cute here!"

"You and your husband are SO meant to be together…"

Her face blushed "Why thank you!"

**~10 YEARS LATER~**

A football game was held at the very same stadium where HTMLL attended to watch a game; it was a match between the L.A. Pacifics & the Miami Riders.

After an exciting long period of time and between rounds, the Pacifics won the match as the crowd roared with delight and the millions watching at home cheered on

A day after the game, a flotilla parade was held in Los Angeles to celebrate and congratulate their team's victory

Cheers, whistles and confetti fill the scene as the crowds gather to see their hometown heroes pass by the road, being showered by confetti and getting cheered by their fans, some holding signs; some lucky fans get to hold the hands of their sports idols; the team shows off to the paparazzi and news anchors their trophy

One of the team's star players, is none other than Roy Bromwell, waving to the crowds and to the camera; likewise, sitting next to him is none other his wife Tiffany Lords, also waving hi to everyone as well. Moments later, the couple showed the crowd their 2 beautiful children, 4 year old son Chad and 3 year old daughter Naomi; the former being held by their mother and the latter being held by their father

The family proudly showed their wonderful kids to the camera, which makes the front page in several sports magazines

**~SOME TIME LATER~**

Sitting next to each other, they watch with delight as their 2 children play with other kids happily. She slowly placed her hand on top of his, which he responded by holding it in return.

Exchanging glances, they smiled and locked lips, knowing that they're now finally together not only as a couple, but now as husband and wife in a happy family

**Author's note: **Well there you go, almost a decade of supporting this couple really paid off! =)


End file.
